Axelton notes, however, that entrepreneurs often have a tough time delegating the execution of their initial vision, a hindrance that can bog down growth and success.
“Instead of putting out fires every day, you [as a leader] need to delegate and go back to focusing on the vision and strategic growth planning,” she says.
Axelton envies existing businesses because, unlike startups, they have built-in sources of help, or perhaps visionary leadership if it is lacking at the top. “You can get entrepreneurial energy from your employees,” she says. “Listen to what they are saying about their jobs and how to do them better.” You can encourage or reward this with promotions, vacation time, or other benefits, all staples of startup smarts.
Younger workers and those that have not been with the company more than a year or two, Axelton says, can be a great source of new ideas, such as applying new technologies to reach and communicate with customers and suppliers more effectively and efficiently. “That’s where a lot of the truly fresh ideas and enthusiasm comes from,” she says of the next generation of lumber dealers.
In addition to being or finding an in-house champion for your startup exercises, Rader promotes engaging a trusted customer.
“Customers are the eyes and ears in the marketplace,” he says. “They can find out things that people won’t tell you.”
Get Over It. There’s no denying it: For all but a few lumber dealers, the housing slump has put the supply chain in territory it hasn’t experienced in at least a decade.
And yet, says Rader, denying today’s business environment is what keeps some dealers from making time to act like a startup, even if it’s the equivalent of two days a year.
The other reason, he says, is that business owners may have delegated the day-to-day management to the point of losing touch with why revenues and profits are down, seemingly all of a sudden. “When the well starts drying up, they start paying attention,” he says.
Even so, Rader and other startup experts encourage owners (presumably the visionary heads of their businesses) to trust their managers to execute the business plan, while the owners maintain focus on new opportunities to boost profitability and reduce overhead to right the ship.
“It’s not a bad exercise for an owner to re-engage,” he says, albeit as a fresh set of eyes on the market, not a hands-on manager.
And while Allen considers the business plan–and within it, the marketing, financial, and operating plans to execute it–the definitive guide to decision-making and success, he considers it a living document that allows intentional changes to sustain the business. “You should always ask if you are successfully demonstrating a value to your target market greater than that of your competition,” he says. “If not, you have some work to do.”–Rich Binsacca is a contributor to ProSales.
