The Four Pillars of Successful Business Ownership

A few words thrown around when it comes to business include pillars and foundation. Both mean the same thing. With a strong foundation or strong pillars, the rest of the building can stand against any storm and provide shelter for those inside.

Before we jump into each of the four pillars of successful business ownership, let’s discuss why you should even care about them. The four main components of running a successful business are Leadership, Knowledge, Confidence and Activity. 

You’ll need confidence to lead and guide employees. Knowledge is required to manage activities and leadership plays a role in involving your community in activities. Most often, when one of these areas is lacking, all of these pillars suffer. 

Now, let’s dive into each one a little more closely.

Leadership

Like the pillars, leadership can be reduced to its foundation.

Leadership derives from “leader,” which comes from to “lead.” According to Oxford Dictionary, to lead is a verb that means to show others a direction or to make a group go in a specific direction. A leader is a person in front, making the path clear. Leadership is the ability, the qualities or the skills of the person.

Strong leadership means that the leader has the charisma and the ability to move forward. Poor leadership means that the individual lacks the elements to direct a group of people or organization. Poor leadership includes fear, coercion, incentives, etc. Strong leadership includes fueling the passion in others, accepting responsibility, determination, etc.

Knowledge

As the saying goes, “education is the greatest equalizer.” The more you educate yourself through books, classes or simple life experiences, the more you know of the world around you and your own circumstances. With a better understanding, individuals can move in a direction that serves them and others well.

What makes knowledge powerful, however, is utilizing knowledge. For business owners, understanding how to do something like paying employees is different than the understanding of how to do it. The business owner knows they need to pay employees, but they are not sure how to do it or, at least, how to do it effectively and efficiently. This is where knowledge comes in.

Even if an accounting system is in place, the world keeps evolving and smart business owners know they need to keep learning and educating themselves to maintain their knowledge. There is never a finish line when it comes to acquiring knowledge. Think about it like a plant seed. The seed needs constant watering and sunlight to grow and prosper and provide oxygen for life. Business owners need to do the same.

Confidence

Confidence is another way of saying trust. The people trust the leader to have the knowledge and skills as well as to lead them in a positive direction. For the leader, confidence is the same, but it is trust in themselves; they have the belief that they can lead effectively.

“Fake it until you make it” is a famous saying and it rings true when it comes to confidence. If you doubt yourself, it will show in your leadership ability and people will not be confident in you either. If you act confident, you will become confident.

When doing anything for the first time, it is scary, no doubt, but, we, as business owners, need to channel that fear into motivation. Motivation to lead our business, to scale our business and to help our clients.

Activity

Activity within your business is a bit different than maintaining a “hobby.” Another way of looking at activity is engagement. You might have heard this word before in a social media context.

Engagement on social media involves being involved with your consumer base through postings, comments and private messaging. Activity is no different. How do you engage with fellow businesses, potential clients, current clients and your employees? The more you engage with various groups, the more likely you will see results.

Work Toward Success – Together

Each pillar is necessary and each one cannot stand alone. But all four can be cultivated with a bit of focus and determination. And taking a team approach to strengthening these attributes within your business makes the journey that much more fun! 

Book a call with Sheles to start building and strengthening your foundations today!

About the author, Sheles Wallace

Sheles is an award-winning business coach who gets results for her clients.

For over 15 years, she has helped business owners achieve their goals and

take their businesses to the next level. If you're ready to take the next

step in your business evolution and go from an owner who wears all hats to

creating a commercial, profitable enterprise that runs without you, find out

more here: https://calendly.com/sheles/introduction?month=2021-06