How do I create a successful business?

How do I create a successful business? I have just watched this fantastic TED talk by Gary Whitehill about entrepreneurship for women. He believes the future is in small companies, where we build a business around our passion.

His advice is to spend some time somewhere we feel inspired, and write down our goals and dreams, and everything we want to be remembered for. We should also list the resources we already have available, and then we should write the next step for each goal.

His next tip is to place copies of this document in prominent places in our home, to create a habit of reading our goals and next steps. This will help us believe, and what we believe will become our reality.

It is important to surround ourselves with people who will truly support us. If we can find people who believe in the story we are telling, they are more likely to provide a supportive environment to help us follow our dreams. Talking about our passion helps us identify these people, because they will either believe what we believe, or they won’t.

Gary also discusses some principles that he feels are important when starting a company –

Foster an open environment where communication is key, and where people do what is in the best interest of the company.

Have a zero-tolerance policy for those who don’t believe in your vision and manifesto.

Be values based, and hire people with similar values.

Create a culture of listening.

Gary finishes by reminding us that we can create our own reality, and that luck is an accumulation of superior effort and focused execution. I love this concept, and am definitely going to try out his tips!