Every business founder/owner asks this question about business survival – Will my business survive? Sure, you ask “will my business be successful?” but along the way you are either wondering (or did) whether your business will survive.

The two pillars of new business survival

There are two primary outcomes that become quite visible in new businesses that transform into sustainable businesses – you as an owner are no longer needed in the business on any day-to-day basis to enable business survival, and your company has “outgrown” the initial wave of revenues/customers and has proven capable of building a sustainable revenue stream. Please note that I called these “outcomes.” This is deliberate to make clear that these are not “activities” to be done. These must be outcomes that your business can sustain over time.

A Business that does not NEED You

Building a business that does not need you may sound a little strange. However, for the many of you that are growing tired of being in the center of your business and feeling the stress of making everything happen, you are likely saying “oh yes, that makes sense.” The truth is that your business will not be sustainable until your business doesn’t need you to be working “in” your business every day. This will be a journey that requires self-awareness, key hiring, building strong relationships and culture, sharing your passions and motivations, and building sustainable, repeatable processes that produce results without your involvement. This is also a key transition to being an “owner” vs. an employee – and will change your life!

A Business that can Sustain Revenues over Time

Your business can also not rely on your first customers. Those customers are great, and were the cornerstone of the launch of your business. These customers may also be a large portion of your revenues. But customers will come and go. Your goal must be to build a business that can always be finding new customers.

Here are a few questions to ask:

• Do we have a repeatable, productive sales process?
• Are we adapting and innovating to remain competitive and remain attractive to prospects?
• Do I have to be involved to close deals?
• Are we overly reliant on one or a few customers that supply 50%-75% of our revenues?
• Have we grown beyond the contacts and opportunities I bring to the table?

This is a journey all companies face – some better than others

You are not alone in the pursuit of these two key outcomes. These are outcomes that come with a high price of commitment, self-examination, investment of time and energy, and collaboration with key hires. After all, if this were easy, statistics on survival of new business startups would be a LOT higher!

Further reading: See Business ownership – does your business own you?