Today we’re looking at FOUR pillars that are key to building a great business. If you have all of these, you have something special!
believe startups either start fast or they don’t ever make it. You know in the first 90 days. Revenue is coming in and it’s exciting and you just have to decide where to steer it.
There are 4 Pillars I look at when I’m putting together a new company.
It Can be Staffed
You have to be able to staff your company and every company has different needs. Some companies just need a lot of bodies, like restaurants or amusement parks, and some companies need fewer people with specific skills.
I need to be able to make critical hires within 60 days and non-critical hires within two weeks.
It’s Scalable
Can it go to the next level and the level beyond?
I always start a new company with ideas about how we can scale it in one or more ways. If I find out it’s not scalable I’ll unload it and sell it off. It’s not enough to keep my interest.
It’s Sustainable
It needs to be sustainable financially, staffing-wise, time-wise. I need to know I can feed the monster.
Some businesses just wear you out. I often joke that if you gave me a restaurant, I’d give it back!
It’s Sellable
I may never sell it, but I start a business that is sellable from the beginning! If it’s not sellable it’s probably not scalable either. It has cash reserves. It’s profitable.
