Blog | Entrepreneurship

Building a Successful Business Takes Leadership and a Team

One can’t exist without the other

Last week, I talked about a surefire way you can grow as a leader —volunteering. To me, leadership is one of the most important aspects of growing a successful business. Without good leadership, a business can never get anywhere. In fact, lack of good leadership is why most businesses fail…or fail to grow very big.

A leader’s role is a combination of visionary, cheerleader, and pit bull.

As a visionary, the leader must keep his or her focus on the company’s mission. As a cheerleader, he or she must inspire the team as it works together towards that mission, as well as herald the successes along the way. As a pit bull, he or she must be able to make the tough calls regarding issues that distract the team from achieving the mission. The unique ability to take decisive action while maintaining focus on the ultimate mission is what defines a true leader.

A leader needs a team

A leader doesn’t have to have all the answers, but he or she must be adept at pulling together a management team that can come up with the answers, and motivating them to provide those answers.

Your team should also include your outside advisors. Proper guidance from your accountants, tax advisors, financial advisors, and legal counsel is imperative for building a strong, successful business.

Although these advisors can be expensive, their advice can provide you with an incredible return on your investment by helping you structure a strong business while avoiding pitfalls along the way.

Money follows management

I often mention that “money follows management” in the world of business capital. Investors invest in management. They look at the team within the proposed business and want to see experience, passion, and commitment. To succeed, a business must have the proper expertise in key areas.

When you do not have the money up front to hire the talent you need, consider attracting the talent as members of an advisory board with the understanding that, once sufficient capital is raised, your team will come on board. Your chance of success is much stronger if your management team has a track record of success in the business or industry of your proposed business.

People business

All of this means that, as a leader, you must be extremely good at working with people. Being able to cooperate with as many people as possible and helping people without crippling them are extremely important leadership skills.

This is one of the reasons why games such as CASHFLOW® are important. Games are important because they encourage cooperative learning, and they require you to play with other people.

If you’re looking to start a business, I encourage you to spend some time assessing whether you’re as good of a leader as you could be, and who you need on your team to succeed. Believe me, it will be time well invested.