Do you want to be an entrepreneur or are you happy being a small business owner? It’s a fair question. Small business owners are perfectly happy concerning themselves with the daily operations of their business and doing so to the best of their abilities. They tend to embody the very same attributes that lead to entrepreneurial success such as passion, attention to detail and commitment to quality but while their focus is always on the here and now, entrepreneurs are always two steps ahead of themselves. Entrepreneurs think strategically and introspectively, always demanding the very best of themselves and their business. They thrive on innovation and are constantly seeking new ways to facilitate growth while carving out an identity for themselves in the incredibly competitive business landscape of the 21st century.
If you’ve chosen the former option you’ve likely already thought a great deal about your business’ identity. Likely this conversation has been dominated by branding. You’ll have agonized over which exact shade of blue defines your business and have crafted your online presence with the same painstaking detail as a master sculptor chiseling a graven image out of raw stone. Yet, far less attention is given to the culture of the business. This is unfortunate as a business’ culture plays as much a part of its identity as its branding or its digital marketing. Here we’ll look at some useful ways to build and perpetuate an effective business culture. But first…
What is a business culture?
Your business culture is the proof in your proverbial pudding. It’s what ensures that your employees’ actions (and of course yours) embody the ideals and values that your brand is built upon. Your brand can be built on the loftiest of ideals, but it’s easily torpedoed if your employees don’t embody those ideals in how they interact with customers and each other. Your business culture is a huge part of the identity of your business but it cannot be imposed or forced upon an enterprise. It needs to be arrived at organically and collaboratively through the operations and strategy of you and your employees. While there are no sure-fire ways to build a business culture there are some ways in which you can give it a nudge in the right direction.
Know your core values
What are the values that define you as a person and an entrepreneur? What are the principles that make your enterprise operate the way that it does? No, “making money” doesn’t count. There needs to be a set of values that all employees can adhere to as guiding principles in their day to day jobs. These need to be honest, personal and specific. Don’t cling to platitudes like “Integrity” and “Excellence”. The more specific they are to your business, your employees and your mission statement the more likely they are to stick.
The workplace environment
The place in which you do business should be a corporeal embodiment of the attributes your business culture values. Not only must they be addressed in the physical layout and facilities of the workplace but in the practices that occur therein. You can’t build your brand around positivity and treat your staff like dirt. There’s no point in saying that your business values creativity and inspiration if your workplace is a generic and uninspiring looking office that adheres rigidly to a 9 to 5 working day and has only a 25 minute lunch break throughout the working day. These are hardly fertile grounds for even the most fecund of creative teams. On the other hand, a flexible open and honest approach that allows flexible hours and working from home so long as deadlines are adhered to can allow creatives to work within the conditions that suit their very particular needs.
You should also think about what the physical space says about your office. While wall art, furnishings, fixtures, fittings and bespoke carpets are all great in giving the environment a sense of identity the space should also embody your values wherever possible. Even thinking hard about the food and drinks you offer your employees, making your processes more environmentally conscious or making responsible decisions about your business waste can make a huge contribution to your business culture.
Strategic recruitment and training
Finally, as much as you may try to embody it, your business culture will be perpetuated by your employees so it’s important to know what qualities best embody your business culture at the recruitment stage. Whether you conduct the recruitment process yourself or outsource it to an external HR provider it’s important to hire in accordance with the business culture you wish to perpetuate. Likewise, there should be regular team meetings and training events to ensure that all members of staff are “on the same page” in terms of your business culture and how it applies to them and their roles. Not only should employees be indoctrinated in your business culture, they should be encouraged to play an active role in shaping it, ensuring that it is forged organically and collaboratively by the people who make it what it is.
