I was thinking this weekend about a coaching client of mine. He’s growing the business while still making room for his life. Family vacations. Workouts. The small things that matter to him. Watching him do it got me thinking about the habits that build a business that’s worth growing.
Here are thirteen of them. Some are easy. Some take real work. All of them have shown up across my own experience and the work I do with clients.
1. Keep learning. Stay curious. Make time for reading inside and outside your industry. The owners who keep growing read a lot, and not just business books.
2. Talk to your customers. Surveys and social media tell you something, but conversations tell you more. Owners who spend real time in conversation with the people who pay them learn things their competitors don’t.
3. Look at the business honestly. Once a month or once a quarter, sit down and ask what’s working and what isn’t. Adjust accordingly. The owners I see plateau are the ones who don’t make time for this.
4. Take care of yourself. The business runs on your energy. Sleep matters. Exercise matters. The hobbies that have nothing to do with work matter. If you’re depleted, the business eventually feels it.
5. Spend time with other owners. Mutual support, new ideas, occasional collaboration. Forums, networking groups, masterminds — pick what works for you. Isolation is the slow killer.
6. Build systems for the work you repeat. If you’re doing something more than once, write down how it’s done. Then hand it off. The owners who don’t do this end up holding everything in their heads, and the business stays the size of their head.
7. Use the numbers. Know your KPIs. Watch them. Different businesses care about different ones, but everyone should be tracking number of new clients, where they come from, and what each client is worth over time.
8. Grow the network. Time on relationships pays out for years. Industry events, online connections, in-person coffees. Where possible, do it in person. The cost-per-relationship is higher and so is the return.
9. Mind the money. Cash flow, revenue, margins, lifetime value of a client. Keep an eye on all four. Don’t outsource your understanding of the numbers to a bookkeeper and a hope that everything’s fine.
10. Set boundaries between work and life. Make sure the things that matter most to you actually get time on your calendar. It’s not enough to say you value your family. You have to schedule it and protect it. I work hard on this with clients because it’s the place owners most often lie to themselves.
11. Say the same thing over and over. Most leaders underestimate how often they need to repeat themselves. Clear communication isn’t a single delivery. It’s a regular drumbeat. I read somewhere that you should think of yourself as the chief reminding officer of the business. That’s about right.
12. Build the muscle of resilience. Setbacks are coming. The owners who recover fastest aren’t the ones who deny the setback. They’re the ones who face it, regroup, and move. My favorite line on this is Albert Camus’:
“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.”
13. Listen to feedback. Clients and peers will tell you things if you create room for it. The customer isn’t always right, but they’re the customer. Understand the feedback before you defend against it. You learn more that way.
A service business that grows over time is built on the long game. Sound strategy. Strong relationships. The willingness to keep growing personally while the business grows around you.
If you’re trying to fold these in and it’s harder than you thought, you’re not alone. Sometimes another set of eyes makes the difference. If you want to talk about how this might land in your own business, set up a call with me.
About the Author
Ron Tester is a physical therapist with thirty years in the field. He built, grew, and operated a multidisciplinary home health company employing PTs, OTs, and SLPs through a successful exit. He now coaches outpatient PT, OT, and SLP clinic owners on operating at the owner level. Certified Executive Coach and Book Yourself® Solid Coach. Learn more at https://rontestercoaching.com/about.