Bamboo Shoots and Business Models

 Proof You Actually Have a Business

In my early experience coaching start-ups, it became clear that the number one piece of evidence that said you actually have a business is selling something to someone other than your family and friends – the second time (anyone can get lucky the first time).

Since working with more emerging and expanding businesses, I’ve found that the second piece of evidence is selling enough such that the business actually sustains you. And by sustaining you, I mean in whatever area(s) you desire – i.e., financially, creatively, relative to your mission, etc.

And it’s not just a matter of revenue (the income you make based on what you actually sell or bring in), it’s also about profit (what’s left after all costs are taken out).

Most people pass the first test (selling something a second time) but narrowly, if at all, pass the second of getting their business to sustain them.

And believe or not, it’s not because of a lack of marketing.

But what’s funny is that marketing is what most business owners will turn to when they can’t make enough money to stay afloat or survive and thrive personally.

CLICK TO TWEET Trying to use marketing to build a broken business is like trying to cover a bullet wound with a band-aid. It won’t work because it’s not made to. 

The #1 reason why most businesses can’t or don’t sustain their owners is not because of a lack of marketing but a broken business model.

What Bamboo Shoots and Business Models Have in Common

Have you ever heard of the Bamboo Principle?

A man by the name of Ken Lodi coined the phrase.

After being planted, timber bamboo plants grow very little and are hardly noticeable above the ground for nearly four years. It’s during this time that their extensive root system grows down and takes hold. But once their roots are fully formed around the four year mark, they can grow a remarkable 80 feet in just six weeks.

Most business owners never establish a real root system (or model with processes) for their business, so they actually stunt their growth and fail to go very far beyond ‘just getting by’.

And if they do grow at all, it’s hardly ever at the level of their greatest potential.

The key is to work on the roots (your foundation) so that money naturally flows in versus getting stuck between the customer and her pocket.

There are 5 key roots or parts of your model to have in place. And my 5 month Business GPS Action Circle helps you setup, or adjust, all 5 parts.

To learn more about the Action Circle and how you can use this implementation-heavy program to help you grow, go here. Kick-off is March 29th in New Orleans.