Q: How do you bring out the best in your business?
A: Take care of it as if it were a top-performing racehorse.
Before a thoroughbred ever sets hoof on a racetrack, it is groomed and trained. The owner and team pour their energy into the horse so it is a glowing, muscular specimen. Among all the other horses in the stable, it is the one that is vibrating with energy. Even standing alone, a horse like this will make you turn your head and gasp.
Your business is like that horse.
It is powerful and ready to take on the competition. Your team is a hundred percent focused on the success of this asset. You as owner tend to it every day.
If you are an owner, you are nodding your head and saying, “Yes, that sounds like my business. It’s a thoroughbred.”
My observation from 45 years advising graphic arts companies?
You may have the desire to be the owner of a thoroughbred business. You may even have the right pieces in place.
It’s one in a hundred who has the potential.
You see, an owner’s will, money, and determination only gets you so far. You also need to be deserving of the heart of your employees, just as a thoroughbred owner is deserving of the heart of the horse.
Are you worthy to lead your team to success?
Ask yourself these questions:
- Are employees proud to work for you?
- Do they commit to top performance?
- Are they ethical and professional because those are priorities of the organization?
- Do they make the success of the business a priority in part because of your character and commitment?
Many owners think they receive that level of loyalty and commitment, yet they will never know how much farther they could have gone.
If you’re still nodding your head, you may have the makings of owner of a number one thoroughbred business.
Whether you plan to sell/transition your business — or hold and grow — a well-groomed business attracts attention. I have talked to owners who never plan to sell, but they love knowing that buyers are salivating over the possibility. They fantasize about being approached with top multiples and beneficial terms, validating the winning choices they have made with their business.
Has it been worth it?
When it’s all said and done, has the struggle to build and groom your business been worth the sacrifice and hard work? Is the legacy you leave making a difference for your time here on Earth? In the final analysis, are you a success?
How do you define success?
Here’s one answer: Ask yourself if you’ve earned the heart of a horse.
Read more in the March issue of Label & Narrow Web magazine.