The Secret to Building a Successful Business (hint: it’s not what you think)

Success means different things to different people.

As a differentiating value, Success means the achievement of one’s aim or goal; a state of prosperity or fame.

For some, success might mean hitting 100,000 followers on Twitter. For others, success might mean their book becomes a bestseller; their album goes gold; or their research gets published in a top scientific journal.

But to an entrepreneur, marketer, or business leader, success is most often synonymous with achieving certain financial goals. The phrase “show me the money” might just say it all. Such goals generally include hitting revenue and profit targets, an increase in the number of new customers, or a decrease in customer churn.

How do you achieve these goals?

Help others get what they want and they will help you get what you want.

The question is: who exactly are these “others” that you need to help?

The Secret of Success

There are many factors that can contribute to building a successful company. But ultimately the group that matters most is customers.

• VC firms such as Sequoia Capital, Benchmark Capital, and The Founders Fund are successful when their clients (often start-ups) are successful.
• Mary Kay and Avon Products are successful when their independent sales agents are successful.
• Auto manufacturers such as Ford, Toyota, and BMW are successful when their dealerships are successful.
• Advertising agencies and marketing consultants are successful when their business clients are successful.

Note that in each case, the concept of the customer is a little different. It’s not always obvious by following the money.

• VCs are ultimately paid by a buyer of their client or the sale of shares through an IPO (unless the client’s business fails to take off or worst is a bust).
• Mary Kay and  Avon receive payments from both their independent sales reps (who in turn sell the product) and the customers of their reps directly (and the company then pays the rep their commission).
• Auto manufacturers advertise like heck to drive traffic into the showrooms of their dealers. But they receive payment through a convoluted wholesale network that manages their entire inventory and financing.
• Agencies and consultants are generally paid directly by their clients, though a few still receive commissions from media companies.

So, the secret to success is to understand who exactly is the real customer.

If you’re not sure, almost always the answer is: the one that will ultimately help you get what you want.

Of course, once you have identified your real customer, then you must do your part to help them be successful.

 

How else would you define success in building a successful business?

 

Today’s value was selected from the “Freedom-Prosperity” category, based on the e-book Developing Your Differentiating Values.