⚙️ Operations
The Business Burger
I'm pretty high on this Business Burger framework I've been using with the Owners I work with.
Frameworks are fun.
But because authors, public speakers and CEO's need them to apply across multiple contexts, you usually end up seeing the same 'ol "pyramids", "quadrants" or "cycles" as the visual mental models.
Don't get me wrong, I use those too, but the way the Business Burger stacks up is a little too fun as an analogy to change it (but I won't judge you if you visualize it as a pyramid instead).
See, when I stepped across the line from "chef" to "entrepreneur", I struggled a lot.
I felt like I had a ton of skills, but I couldn't out-cook my way out of the issues I was dealing with.
Negotiating. Sales. Marketing. Hiring.
On top of that, I had this nagging bug in my ear that was telling me that I needed to change everything all the time.
New menus every pop-up, new video formats for every upload, new fonts for the website because I saw someone else's sleeker looking branding.
That's where the Business Burger comes in.
Belly up to the counter top, I've got all the ingredients - I want to build a Business Burger together wit you.
The bottom bun is your Point of View. As an Owner, this is the foundation of whatever business you're building. This is how you make decisions, incorporate your previous experience, and bring an idea to life that feels like yours (instead of a copycat of something else).
Next up, the burger patty is Something People Want. It's fitting because it's both crucial to business success (who orders a burger without a patty?), and incredibly individualized. I'm ordering my patty with cheese, you might substitute yours for a grilled portabella mushroom. As the Owner, you get to choose. Also, it's not to say you can't have success deciding to make a burger patty made out of algae, but this step allows you ask the right questions like, "what do people actually want?" so you don't get too self-absorbed in developing your product/service.
Topping the burger patty is a secret sauce: Relationships. This is what allows Owners to achieve outlier outcomes, not because of WHAT they do but WHO they do it with. A killer list of engaged customers, preferred pricing from friendly vendors, and/or a rolodex of mentors to call on and connect with are all examples well-executed Relationships
After the sauce comes one of my favorites, the pickles, which are a placeholder for Scaling. Depending on your preference, just like pickles on a burger, the word "Scaling" might have you feeling some type of way. I personally enjoy working with Owners who want to prioritize Scaling in their business, but it's not something that's going to make or break your Business Burger. Scaling, just like making pickles, takes time, resources, energy and thoughtful coordination.
Let's top this gloriously delicious Business Burger with the top bun of Profitability. Just like wrapping up a burger being easier when there's a top bun on it, it's easier to wrap up an event or a quarter knowing that you were Profitable after your efforts.
The first business I owned was built all out of whack (both in regards to my "ingredients" and the "order" that I stacked them in).
I wanted to be Profitable above everything else. Because I changed everything all the time, it was really hard to do any type of Scaling. I wanted so badly to be able to say I was "self-made" that I failed to prioritize Relationships.
I was finally able to do so in future businesses and find success (my 2nd business was doing $457,000+/yr), but only after having to painfully learn these lessons the hard way.
I wish I would've just started with a bottom bun and built from there, step by step.
A way to know this works and test for yourself: pick a business you admire.
If you aren't able to identify each part of the Business Burger in how they operate, I'm genuinely curious to hear from you in a reply.
