Whether you are the owner of your organisation or you run it for someone else, of course you want it to succeed.

But its success, like any business, depends on the strength of the foundation it sits on.

Just how strong is your business?

As you know if you follow my posts and messages, my focus for the last few weeks leading up to April has been on financial viability. I have been a bit of a stuck record evangelising the need to review care fees based on the increased costs you will face with April’s rise in NLW and NMW.

I’ve done this because, quite frankly, few care providers do this and because for any business, being financially healthy is the most important thing to get right, the sector still suffers record insolvency and because the financial challenge is only going to get worse as council’s are forced to reduce spend or face bankruptcy.

So, I make no apology for harping on about this, but will now move on, except to say if you haven’t done this yet, it’s never too late because you need to know if your fees are enough and how to get the increases you need if they aren’t.

And if you need some help with this then download this free report,  5 Steps to Make Your Care Business Financially Secure.

Ok – this is me now moving on… I want to expand beyond the need to be financially healthy even though it is a core requirement – just like the Sun at the centre of our solar system – because…

•     Being financially weak will guarantee your business will eventually die – just like our planet will when the sun finally expires.

•     But being financially healthy does not guarantee success – just like the sun doesn’t guarantee a life-sustaining planet.

Once financially healthy, there is more your business needs to do to ensure its long-term success.

It needs to be supported by a strong foundation.

Strong foundation = Successful business

Weak foundation = Failed business

Of course, it’s not quite that black and white. A strong foundation cannot guarantee a successful business. Bad luck can play a part. How many otherwise successful businesses have been lost to the pandemic? How many were lost in the years after the global financial crisis of 2008?

But a weak foundation will result in a business eventually having to close, usually because it runs out of money.

If you want your care business to succeed, then it needs a strong foundation.

Most businesses don’t make it. I’ve spoken to many business owners – some who made it and many who didn’t. I’ve looked at my own successes and failures and carried out a ton of research and discovered common reasons as to why most businesses failed, regardless of the sector they work in.

I narrowed these common reasons for success and failure down to 3 fundamental reasons. Their presence increased the chances of success and their absence almost certainly caused their failure.

Luck aside, successful businesses are built on a foundation based on certainty and control.

They have the certainty of knowing where they want to get to and how to get there and they have the control needed to get there.

This intangible need to have certainty and control translates into the tangible components of strategy and leadership.

Now, of course, we live in a world where 100% certainty isn’t possible. So, when I talk about establishing certainty, I am talking about eliminating as much uncertainty – risks and threats – as possible.

Business owners and leaders need to step away from their business knowing that it will still work without their daily intervention. Good businesses have systems in place that keep things working like an efficient engine.

Without the right systems and processes in place there would be no strategy that would guide the way and no strong leadership that would ensure the strategy was implemented.

Systems is the 3rd ‘reason that needs to be present.

These 3 ‘reasons’ I call fundamental building blocks.

Here are those 3 fundamental building blocks that make up a strong business foundation in more detail.

Strategy Building Block

A strong, coherent strategy lies at the heart of every successful business. Financial viability lies at the heart of a good strategy.

Without this building block, even the best leader will struggle to steer a true course towards their vision.

No strategy and you’re ‘winging it’ – you’re being opportunistic not strategic. You can only hope that with luck your business will be successful.

Read more: Strategy Building Block

Leadership Building Block

The Leadership building block covers the leadership skills and attributes needed by you and all of your people.

Without this building block, a strategy will be weak, milestones and targets will be missed and the supporting framework will fall apart. The service you provide will deteriorate and you’ll spend more and more time fixing issues. The leader will lose control and the business will veer off course.

Quality training is a key element in this block.

Read more: Leadership Building Block

Systems Building Block

The Systems building block supports the other two blocks.

Without this building block, leaders will not have the time and space to step back and create a good strategy nor check that it is working. They will not be able to maintain course nor correct deviations from it because they will be spending all their time in the business and reacting to it.

You need the right systems and processes in place so that your business runs efficiently and effectively without you in it every day. With a well systemised business you will be able to step back and be the leader it needs you to be.

Read more: Systems Building Block

This is the strong foundation that supports all successful businesses and is the same one you need for your own organisation.

Without these 3 building blocks your business foundation will be weak – that is to say, instead of based on certainty and control, it will be based on hope and luck. You can only hope you are doing the right things to run and grow your business and that with luck nothing unexpected will happen that will hurt it.

With this foundation your business is like a stone castle built into a cliff that has withstood the elements for hundreds of years – it’s strong enough to weather the storms ahead.

Without this foundation, your business is more like a sandcastle – it’s weak and vulnerable and won’t last beyond the next incoming tide.

If you’re in this to build and run a care business that is financially sustainable, that delivers the best of care to its clients, that brings the best out in its people and that you’re proud to stand at the helm of, then you must eliminate hope and luck and instead establish the certainty and control that these building blocks give you.

The financial health of your care organisation is where our help starts. Only when this is financially healthy, can we help you build your care business on a strong foundation that not only protects it against crises like the pandemic and the current cost of living but ensures it stands out from the crowd as the best around.

If you are worried about the wage rises in April and haven’t yet reviewed your care fees then download my free report, 5 Steps to Make Your Care Business Financially Secure.

If your organisation is financially healthy and you want help to build this strong foundation then contact me on chris@qualityofcare.co.uk

To Your Success

Chris