Building a business is a lot like building a house. Both require vision, a lot of effort, and a whole lot of chutzpah. There is not a single general contractor that would build a home without a comprehensive plan, yet may business owners embark on their entrepreneurial journeys lacking a long-term, actionable blueprint. Whether constructing a home or building a business, there are some very specific foundational elements required for success. Both objectives need vision, planning, and a capable team to turn the dream into reality. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. Let’s take a closer look at the similarities between building a house and building a business in a structured and successful way.
Identifying Your Vision
When building a home, you want to plant yourself in the right neighborhood. You might prefer to be surrounded by well-groomed lawns, big trees, and wide sidewalks. Or maybe you want to live among multi-family dwellings, city life, and corner stores. Similarly, business owners must identify the landscape in which they choose to run and grow their business. Who do they serve and where should they plant themselves for the best opportunities to thrive as an organization?
Not unlike scouting neighborhoods, it is essential that business owners understand their market and big-picture goals. These business objectives need to align with both reasoning and reality. You likely wouldn’t try to build a mansion on postage-stamp lot or a tiny house in a community of high rises. Likewise, it is important to align your business goals with the actuality of market dynamics, locations, and other essential factors.
Designing a Roadmap for Success
Like erecting a house, your business requires strategic planning and structure. Before construction on a home ever starts, the architect and builder map the layout, flow, and the needs of the homeowner. In business, creating a strategic plan helps identify what you are trying to achieve, what functions need to be addressed, and how the business is going to operate effectively.
Strategic planning is the roadmap and foundation to a successfully constructed and thriving business. For a home, that foundation acts as a base for the ensuing structure of the building. For a business, those foundational elements include critical concepts like core values, financial models, key differentiators, and competitive advantage.
Whether you are building a house or a business, the point here is that strategic planning and architecture are essential components that drive success.
Assembling the Right Team
You probably wouldn’t hire a landscaper to do electric work inside your home, because his or her talents don’t fit the role. And in all likeliness, you wouldn’t take on the task yourself, unless that was your area of expertise. In business as in homebuilding, defined roles and smart hiring create a stronger, more effective team.
Remember, many active participants in residential construction are contractors. Likewise, you might not always need to bring an employee onto the payroll to achieve your business objectives. Engaging the right team effectively is dependent on strong leadership and strategic hiring. Surround yourself with the people who know how to build the business you envision, whether that be talented employees, trusted advisors, business coaches, or peer advisory boards.
Inspecting Your Business
Home building requires inspections and corrections throughout construction. Missing or failing an inspection can set a contractor back in both time and cost. The same goes for companies, but the inspector is often you as the business owner. Schedule regular reviews, analysis, and adjustments that might require your attention. This ongoing process may also include financial audits, customer feedback, and company culture evaluations.
Tending to maintenance and upkeep saves money and ultimately builds a stronger, safer, and more reliable business structure.
Leveraging Business Builder’s Blueprint
Just like a contractor’s blueprint keeps everything aligned, goal-focused, and moving forward, TAB’s Business Builder’s Blueprint is a simple, powerful way to identify, plan, and execute your business strategy. The hands-on and easy-to-navigate platform allows business owners to map their vision, identify strategic priorities, define accountabilities, and grow their organizations in a smart and scalable way.
Successful business owners know the importance of stepping back to assess current structure and strategy. Even well-planned businesses eventually implement workarounds, quick fixes, new departments, or any number of changes over time. What started as a strong build can become inefficient and in need of a strategic reset.
Business Builder’s Blueprint works like a business renovation master plan. It helps owners assess what’s working, identify weaknesses, assign accountabilities, and strategically map their road to success.
Every business needs a clear, actionable plan. Business Builder’s Blueprint provides structure and direction to strategic planning, so execution becomes focused, accountable, and effective.
Framing the Future of Your Business
In many ways, building a business is a lot like building a house. It requires vision, strategic planning, and the right people to execute. Your business’s foundation needs to be strong, your structure sound, and everyone working together toward achieving your organizational goals.
And just like a house, a business requires maintenance, inspection, and sometimes renovation. Growth puts pressure on the frame. Priorities shift. New opportunities emerge.
TAB’s Business Builder’s Blueprint gives business owners a way to step back, assess what’s working, and strategically build the business they have always dreamed of.
Want to learn more about fueling strategic growth in your business? Click here to download our Business Builder’s Blueprint white paper.
