5 Essential Elements for Growth

1. Your Purpose – simple and compelling

You can overcome any obstacle or frustruation when you are clear about WHY you want to create something. If you aren’t clear, schedule a private chat with Caprice or register for The Perfect Livelihood Incubator.

• Declare Your Purpose. A compelling purpose will attract loyal customers and engaged team members.
• Tell Your Story. People will buy your stuff if they understand why you are selling it. You need to tell your story.

2. A Profitable Business Model

Cash is the oxygen of a company, not it’s purpose. Is your business model viable? Will men and women pay what you need for your product or service?

• Charge less than the value you provide.
• Discover a sustainable business model. Adapt lean startup and customer development approaches – pivot until you figure out how to solve a pressing problem for hungry customers who will pay for your solution.
• Craft a strategic marketing plan. Create a blueprint for how you will create happy customers who will joyfully pay for your product or service.

3. Business & Marketing Systems that Free You to Grow

When you first start a business, you might use simple paper and pencil or spreadsheet systems to track your activities, customers, etc. As you become more successful, these simple systems begin to break down. Below are examples of business systems and tools that we have set up for clients.

Here are the systems you need in place to grow your business:

• Project Managment System I really like Asana! It is simple, visual and intuitive. I have set up project management systems in Asana for many companies and it has made a huge difference in how their companies run. It allows a CEO/founder to delegate work and stay in touch with what your people are doing.
• Asset Databases
• Marketing Systems This includes social media marketing schedules, email marketing campaigns, webinars, events, and any replicable way of engaging with prospective and current customers. \
• Employee Review Systems

4. A Healthy Culture & Engaged Team Members

You don’t need to build your business alone. It is much more fun with a team. Once people get competitive pay and benefits, what else to they need? If a company is mission-driven, with a clear purpose, then the elements below are critical:

• Healthy culture of trust, innovation and creativity. Treat adults like adults and empower them to do their work, trust that they will do their best, and allow them to be a whole human being, not just a corporate “role”.  Emotions, intuition, imagination are keys to innovation. Don’t treat people like machines.
• Clear roles and responsibilities. People know what they are supposed to do and are not micro-managed. Nobody likes to be managed! Most performance evaluations are subjective and insulting. Ditch them for open communication and accountability for results.
• Flexible work arrangements. Allowing people to work remotely is a no-brainer in the 21st Century. The technology is available and the environment demands it. See my Distributed Organization Blueprint to discover what your company needs to go remote.

5. Inspired Leadership – inspire and coach your team

• Soul inspired leadership. Work is an opportunity for people to grow their souls.
• Visible, accessible and self-aware leadership. Show up. Model your values. Live your purpose.
• Leadership as service. Leadership is service not status or power.

What CEOs and Entrepreneurs say…