The What, Why, and How of Building a Sustainable Business

What does it mean to have a Sustainable Business? 

When we think of building a sustainable business, we have to think about it in terms of not only our revenue, but also our wellness, our happiness, and our time. And because you didn’t start your own business to be stressed, burned out, overwhelmed, and working 24/7. You started your business for financial freedom – and probably time freedom or location freedom too! 

Creating a sustainable business means having a business that can outlive the various challenges we face as business owners. Because your business should not rely 100% on your daily involvement to run smoothly and continue to be successful. 

As you grow your business, you have to think about how to lay the foundation for it to grow sustainably.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself to check how you’re doing with building the foundation for a sustainable business :

• Could work still get done if you had to leave for a day, week, or month unexpectedly?
• Do you have Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)  outlined for your business?
• Do you have team members helping you with regular business responsibilities or do you wear all the hats? 
• Would you feel comfortable leaving your laptop at home and taking a two-week vacation?

If you answered no to any of these, your business could use some TLC in the sustainable business arena, but trust us, you are not alone. Many entrepreneurs face challenges when it comes to planning for and growing a business that can stand the tests of time.  

Why Focusing on Sustainability is Important for Your Business and for You

When we all first start our service-based businesses, we directly exchange time for money. Because you likely sell done-for-you services or coaching and personally serve each of your clients one-on-one. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this. BUT…

• Can you sustain this forever and still reach your personal and business goals? 
• Can you scale this way? 
• Can you double or triple your revenue without working double or triple the amount? 

The answer is likely no to all of these. 

Without sustainable growth at the heart of your business strategy and operations, your business can’t scale. You’ll always feel like you need to do more to make more. But directly exchanging your time and energy for money isn’t how you’ll see your business grow and reach the heights you want it to 

You’ll first want to focus on creating a sustainable business – one that can continue to operate without you wearing all the hats and being “on” every day. Why? Because let’s be honest – business owners need a break sometimes too. Think of how freeing it would be to be able to take a vacation or handle a family emergency without having to stress about client deliverables being met on time or your daily operations continuing to run smoothly. 

Another reason? Because that vision you have for your business isn’t really going to happen if you try to do it all on your own and without proper systems and processes in place. There is no one-size-fits-all way to build a sustainable business, but they do all require being set up to survive and continue to run successfully whether you’re able to “clock in” that day or not.

How to Start Implementing Sustainable Business Practices

Depending on your business, there are a plethora of ways to grow sustainably. However, all of our suggestions below apply to nearly all types of businesses.

1. Hire and delegate

You should not have to wear all the hats in your business forever. There will come a point where you need only to wear the CEO hat. Not the social media manager hat. Not the email marketing hat. Not the copywriting hat. Not the accounting hat. When you’re ready to scale your business, be prepared to delegate tasks. This could feel uncomfortable at first, but remind yourself you are the CEO and delegation is critical for sustainable growth. 

2. Document SOPs

As you onboard new members to your team, SOPs will save you time while training them and will create consistency in your business. SOPs should outline all your processes within your business. If you unexpectedly have to step out of your business for a day, week, or month, SOPs will give your team the direction they need to continue moving forward without you.

3. Use project management tools & automation

Leveraging the power of project management tools helps keep your employees or contractors organized. Your team will be self-sufficient if you have all your essential documents, SOPs, contacts, and timelines outlined in a project management tool. Check out this post to learn more about why you need a project management tool in your business. 

These are just a few of the many ways you can set your business up for long-term sustainable growth. 

As you continue to grow your business, always think about creating a sustainable business model that supports your ideal lifestyle. 

We want you to feel excited to take the vacation. 

We want you to feel empowered to take months off for maternity leave. 

We want you to feel comfortable stepping away from your business when necessary.

And we want you to do all these things while still making a profit.

Take one small step at a time, and always know we’re here to help you. If you’re ready to invest in building a sustainable business, our business development services could be great for you!