Boss It summary

Now that you’ve decided to start a business, what exactly will you do? Just having an idea isn’t enough – you need it to be compelling. Yet many business owners limit themselves from the start by only dreaming rational dreams, so that's all they achieve. In doing so, they prevent themselves from growing and remain stuck doing business as usual. 

So dream big, because it’ll help you stay motivated over the long run. And align your dream with your values and ideas about success, too. While it may seem a long way from where you are now, remember that you’re dreaming about the future, not the present. So go into it thinking the sky’s the limit. 

While some people might be lucky enough not to need funding, most new business owners require some assistance. And as any entrepreneur knows, you have to spend cash to make cash, putting fundraising at the top of your to-do list. 

Maybe your business is part of an industry in which there are grants, or maybe it’s located in an area that provides subsidies. If not, you’ll have to be ready to take on some debt. 

Once you’ve received your funding, built your website, and even made a few sales, it might be tempting to go full steam ahead. After all, you’ve probably been working without a paycheck, so why not try to reel in more profits? 

Well, the problem is you’re already doing a lot, including serving your customers while searching for new ones. If you go all in now and grow too quickly, things can slip through the cracks. For example, what if you miss a few emails and forget to pay a supplier? Then your supply chain is disrupted and production gets held up. 

Above all, the most important factor in the sustained success of your business is the ability to find and retain customers. That’s because reliable, steady customers bring in money. And in addition, the cash flow they provide allows you to strategically plan for the future. Likewise, losing customers is bad for business, not only because you lose their money, but because finding new customers is more expensive than keeping them. 

Too many business owners think that the quality of their product alone, their strategic location, or their snazzy website is all it takes to reel in new customers. Sadly, that isn’t true. To get customers interested in your product, you’ll need to have a clear understanding of who they are – or who you want them to be – and how you can capture their interest. 

No matter how important customers are, there are still some that you don’t actually need. Of course, in the beginning, every dollar counts so every customer is necessary. But do you really care about a customer who isn’t likely to come back? If you can’t make money by serving them, do you really need them? And if interacting with them is unpleasant – if they’re dishonest or don’t share your value system – isn’t it best not to work with them? 

As the business owner, you profit directly from every purchase, so you might be tempted to take a rosier view. But as your business takes on staff, they might not feel enthusiastic about serving the bad apples. That’s why it’s so important to understand who your key customers are and then do whatever you can to encourage them to keep coming back.

So now your business is humming along. You’ve taken on employees who are free to make decisions, so you’re no longer responsible for everything. Workflow bottlenecks are a thing of the past because the processes you’ve put in place run smoothly and automatically adjust to the growing business. Now if you want to keep growing – perhaps by expanding to new cities or taking things to a level where the company can function without you – then it’s time to consider how to scale up. 

To do this, you’ll need to acquire and retain new talent – and, more importantly, lead them into the future. Your ultimate goal here is to structure a business that runs itself.