Building a business legacy – your key ingredients for success

Are you building a legacy business? A company that can exist without you and continue to thrive?

Legacy businesses have a solid foundation and effective products and processes meaning they can stand alone from the individuals who created them, passed on to someone else when the time is right. These businesses may be the family-owned shop, managed by one generation then the next, or an agency built to grow and be sold on when the owner is ready for something new.

You may have started your business with no thought for legacy, but having built something successful, you’re now thinking about the future. How can you, then, ensure your legacy business has the solid foundation it will need?

Building a Business Legacy

Let’s look at the four ingredients every legacy business needs.

A Vision

Your legacy business needs a vision.

When you are in control of the organisation, managing the day-to-day and making the big decisions, that vision may be personal to you. Readying your business for the future will need you to establish that vision as something tangible which your team can strive for.

Whether your plan is to sell this business or pass it on, you want to be clear what that business will look like – and the opportunities it will offer for the future. This vision is about more than just increasing turnover year on year, it’s establishing a picture of growth which inspires. This vision, along with the solid foundations you’ve created and achievable goals for the future, will keep pushing your organisation forward.

The Right People

Legacy business development relies on establishing a team of people who share your vision and can support and grow the organisation even when you’re not involved. Having the right people around you – and a clear vision to work towards – means each area of your business will be managed and developed with a clear focus.

How will you ensure you have the right people in your business? Whether hiring or developing, you’ll be looking for people whose values align with those of the business, who will commit to a long-term vision for the company, and who have ideas and insights which will bring new opportunities into the team.

But the people you need aren’t just employees. Strong relationships with your suppliers, partners and customers will also benefit your organisation. Again, you’re looking for people whose values match yours, who see where you’re going and support you. And when your company has a clear, unified vision, your marketing, buying, and all other business decisions will be influenced by it meaning that those you attract will also be committed to your cause.

Culture

Having clarified your vision and surrounded yourself with inspiring people, you’ll be building a culture within your organisation which supports your values and is driven towards your clear goals.

Creating a culture of continuous development and growth – for your business as a whole and the people within it – will promote engagement and innovation. This sets your organisation on a path to success. Committing to the development of your teams will encourage their commitment to you, supporting each other and working together towards company goals.

Clear and open communication is also key when developing a growth culture. Establishing forums for communication which keep people informed and allow opportunity for feedback, help individuals feel valued.

Equally, communicating effectively with those outside your business – customers, suppliers, and partners – is just as important. Here your message should be clear, consistent, and helpful so that you are recognised as a company to be trusted.

Courage to Step Back

Building a business legacy is dependent on you, as the business owner or leader, knowing when the time is right to step back.

Your company can only move forward without you if you allow that, which can be difficult. One test is to leave the business for six months with no contact, on your return the business should be doing better than it was when you left.

Where do you and your business need to be so that you can step back?

Your business, your legacy

You’ve created an organisation that can thrive, with a vision for the future, the right people, and a culture of growth – have you created a legacy?

What comes next is up to you. The right path for your company will be something you – and those around you – determine; then, when you decide to sell up or pass your business on, you have created a legacy business.

While I’ve introduced four ingredients for success, pulling them together and developing them will – again – depend on your business. But did you know, we at Your Business Matters can help with that?

Among our members we have people who are experts in their field, who can help you define your vision, find your people, develop your culture and more. If you’re looking for growth and support on your business journey, you might find it at one of our networking meetings. To find the right meeting for you and book today have a look here.