By: Bob Crutchfield

Fundamental principles of science, math and physics rule the universe we live in. But the same is true of business. There are fundamental principles that govern the success or failure of every new venture. In all of the businesses Third Trimester sees, the following is an absolute; business dreams begun without business discipline invariably become business disasters.

Every new company begins with an entrepreneur’s dream that their idea, concept or model improvement will be revolutionary, successful and produce both personal and professional dividends. Without this level of passion and commitment, no new business would ever be launched. But the business idea is only the beginning. Real business success occurs through business discipline. Operationally and financially, those businesses which have written goals and objectives and understand the operational behaviors that are critical to achieving the desired results, always have the odds for success more stacked in their favor.

As you manage your early stage venture think through what are realistic goals and objectives on a quarterly basis. Write them down and agree to them as a team, whether it is a team of colleagues, employees, or a team of business advisors. Carefully consider what has to be done to deliver on these goals and the individual behaviors that need to be tracked, whether they are financial, operational, and/or sales and marketing oriented. Without these metrics of measure to gauge and manage the business’s progress, it is difficult to know where you have been and where you are going as a business.

When I launched my first start-up, Surgical Innovations and Services, Inc. in 1995, I formed an ex-officio advisory board. This group was made up of my banker, business attorney, accountant and commercial insurance broker. I met with them on a quarterly basis to give them progress reports, seek advice, and to give them visibility to the next quarter’s goals and objectives. This accomplished several things for the business. First, it allowed me to have the four most important advisors and service vendors of my business meet with me each quarter for a couple of hours for free! It held me accountable to previously established goals and objectives and for preparing new ones each quarter. It kept my banker aware of what my financial needs were and what financial results had been achieved, so request for credit line extensions and capital needs were always clear and, luckily, most always approved.

As a result of these early disciplines, Surgical Innovations and Services, Inc. grew into a leading provider and manager of surgical laser programs for hospitals and surgery centers in the eastern United States. When I sold the business five years later to a publicly traded company in Philadelphia, we had offices from Milwaukee, WI to Miami, FL and over 120 employees operating in 16 states. I am confident that had I not set up my ex-officio advisory board early on, the company would not have grown so quickly. I am always amazed when I talk to new early stage entrepreneurs at their level of confidence and risk aversion with regard to their idea, product or service. In addition, most bootstrapping business leaders leverage for growth very well. But rarely do I find the leverage of professional resources like bankers and accountants. Bankers, accountants, insurance brokers and lawyers want to be esteemed (just like the rest of us) and desire to be helpful. Particularly when applied in the order of esteem first! I would encourage you to reach out to the key professionals who are working with your business and create an advisory board. At the end of the day, the worst that will happen is that you add a critical component of business discipline to your business model.