To me, sustainability means that my business could keep running for decades, even after I’m gone.
There’s something about building timeless things that appeals a lot to me.
My goal is to build businesses that both serve clients and also create opportunities for other people. So to me, sustainability means all this can keep happening, even when I’m unavailable or occupied with exciting experiments.
I thought about this recently and I wonder, what are the things that need to be in place to have a sustainable business?
I don’t think it’s sustainable if attracting new clients depends on how much and how well I (as the business owner) show up online/offline.
Neither do I think it’s sustainable if the number of clients I could serve at a time depends entirely on how much energy I have.
Which means in the long run, in my business, things like client acquisition and client retention need to happen in a way that doesn’t involve me.
For instance, it’s important to have a system that keeps attracting new clients, and it’s really important to have a team of people smarter than me.
A growing team of people who will serve my clients better than I would.
I’ve learned that client attraction can be done either actively, or passively. Actively being that you constantly show up to give people reasons to consider you.
Or passively, and they somehow come to you by themselves. For example, maybe because you have things that they are constantly looking for on their own journey.
Right now, I’m having to actively spend time engaging online to attract new clients and build awareness/authority.
This is going well so far, and I love how it’s easy to quickly tell what’s working or not. But honestly, I’d rather spend more time serving and retaining clients instead.
I’m gently starting to consider reducing the time I spend engaging online. Who knows?
And maybe instead, spend more of that time creating things that potential clients are looking for.
Or maybe I should think about sustainability later and do more of whatever’s working right now.
I’m a Christian & Business Clarity Coach. I founded Spantus to help purpose-driven entrepreneurs build meaningful, yet profitable businesses. I enjoy building stuff and writing about business, marketing, and tech. I’m deeply passionate about making life easier through technology and can’t wait to launch more projects that do just that!
