By Dave Frank
Dave Frank is a 30-year industry veteran and the president of the American Institute for Cleaning Sciences, an independent third-party accreditation organization that establishes standards to improve the professional performance of the cleaning industry.
No matter how bold or ambitious your plans are to grow your business, the key to your business’s success lies in three critical, interdependent components: operational excellence, customer relations/communications and financial management. The failure to focus on any one component will be an obstacle to the success of your business.
Operational excellence: Businesses require a general framework to ensure effective operations and continual improvement. Elements include definitions of systems and standards such as scope of work; quality plan and measurement; employee manual; organizational charts; hiring policies; training systems; and so on. These elements provide structure that can be seen, felt and replicated. In a successful business everyone at all levels must march along with these standard operating procedures that define who is doing what, where, and with what. If your business does not have operational excellence, you’ll have problems with the next two components.
Customer relations: Customers should be given an idea of, if not a copy of, your business’s operations framework. Based on this framework, invite customers to provide feedback. Maintain customer relationships by making yourself and your staff accessible. Many businesses are doing this through the use of technology, such as BlackBerries. Conduct customer surveys and evaluations, review the results and follow up with customers to make sure you are meeting the scope of work. In addition, include your customers’ customers — the building occupants — and make sure they are aware of your organization’s role.
Financial management: To manage your monetary deposits and withdrawals, you have got to have a financial management system or you will go broke. Business owners should always have an awareness of what accounts are profitable and what accounts are not (and give the latter to competitors). From bidding to budgeting, you should have a system in place for estimating costs. Systems should consider labor costs, materials, overhead, profit, taxes, insurance and miscellaneous costs.
Cost controls should exist and be used to ensure that work is completed within workloading, budgeting and costing parameters. All financial aspects should be documented. Finally, make sure to have a well-documented payroll system. You should have a handle on weekly hours, including hours of billing versus hours on payroll. Manage these hours regularly to make sure they mesh. Don’t wait until the end of the month to see if it all balances out because it will be too late.
It is crucial that billables and hours of work equal each other or you could send yourself into financial disaster.
Intertwined, the components of operational excellence, customer relations and financial management are critical to have a successful business. When operations are tight and relationships strong, you should be able to make money.
POSTED ON: 11/1/2006
FAQs
While the strategies and tactics may vary, three core pillars consistently emerge as the keys to achieving long-term prosperity: operational excellence, customer relations, and financial management.
What are the 3 P's of successful business? ›
If you want your business to succeed, you absolutely must focus on three key variables: people, process, and product. The three Ps, as they're often called, provide the highest return for your efforts because they act as the cornerstone for everything your business does.
What are 3 factors that help a business succeed? ›
Every CEO is Looking to Ensure the Success of Their Business
The three primary factors are the market, the solution, and the team. Let's start with a simple framework before diving more deeply into each major factor.
Which 3 are elements of a business plan? ›
The executive summary, marketing plan, key management bios, and financial plan business plan sections are critical and should be included in all business plans. Additional sections can be added to these four when targeting specific purposes and audiences.
What are the 3 C's for a success business plan? ›
The 3 C's—concept, customer, and capital are fundamental to building a successful business. It will add clarity and focus to your business idea helping you explain it better. Refer to your existing plans and check whether they address these 3 components effectively.
What are the 3 C's of business strategy? ›
The 3Cs are Company, Customer and Competitor. The intersection of the three is a good strategy with the idea that the company's strength, the needs of the customer and the offerings of the competitors lies the opportunity.
What are the three keys to business success? ›
Running a Successful Business: 3 Keys for Long-Term Growth
- Great vision.
- Great financial management.
- Great people.
1) Better before cheaper: Don't compete on price, compete on value. 2) Revenue before cost: Don't drive profits by cutting cost, instead find ways to earn higher prices or higher volume. 3) There are no other rules: View all your other choices through the lens of the first two rules.
What are the 3 Ps of business profit? ›
On the reality TV show “The Profit,” Marcus Lemonis assessed companies for potential investment using the three P's of business: people, process and product. Even if a millionaire isn't investing in your business, the three P's can help you evaluate your shop and make improvements.
What are the 3 success factors? ›
As stated in that quote, there are three key factors to achieve massive success in your life:
- Preparation. You don't have to wait for everything to be perfect. Start with the first step and keep moving. ...
- Hard Work. Success needs hard work. ...
- Learning from failure. Successful people do not see failures as failures.
Business activities are divided into three main types—operating, investing, and financing— and each type plays a crucial role in the company's efforts to create shareholder value. Understanding these activities provides insight into how a company operates and manages its financial resources.
What are the 3 steps in establishing a successful business? ›
Three Steps when Starting a Successful Business
- First have a product, which isn't necessarily new, or a service that people want to purchase.
- Sell it to consumers at a profit.
- Repeat and increase in size as desired and required in order to support the business.
These elements include: Products - the tangible items the organization sells. Services - the intangible items the organization sells or provides. Competition - other firms in the same industry that target the same customers.
What are the 4 basic elements of business? ›
A successful small business must have 4 things in their corner – product, market, money & people. Whether you're a startup looking for venture capital or you want to become a successful small business all on your own, there are a few basic – but important – components every business must have.
What are the 3 steps in a business plan? ›
3 steps towards creating an effective business plan
- Start by creating a SWOT analysis.
- Understand the key elements you need to include in your business plan.
- Create a high-level business plan.
By Dave Frank
No matter how bold or ambitious your plans are to grow your business, the key to your business's success lies in three critical, interdependent components: operational excellence, customer relations/communications and financial management.
What are the 3 keys of success in industry? ›
In “The Living Company,” Arie de Geus explores 3 key attributes shared by businesses with enduring success:
- Great vision.
- Great financial management.
- Great people.
The principles of honesty, integrity and respect for one another must characterize every aspect of our business activity. The principles of openness, teamwork and professionalism must lie at the heart of everything we do.
What are the three A's in business? ›
Test your marketing metrics against the three As of actionable, accessible and auditable.
