Before people can decide what they think of your company and your message, they’re going to decide what they think of you. Starting a business and finding success relies so heavily on the general attitude of the workplace, and it all starts with you — the business owner. In this blog, I’ll share some of my best advice for how to build company culture and create an environment of positivity, inspiration, and success.

How to Build Company Culture for Success

I’m going to cover some of the key points to consider, although there are others. Keep reading!

Cultivate a Team of Owners

Broadly speaking, there are two types of team members: renters and owners.

Renters clock in, do their jobs, and clock out. They might be good at what they do, but they mostly stick only to their individual roles and don’t think much beyond that.

Then, you have owners. These are people who take responsibility for the success of the business. They think big, take accountability for what they do, and are always looking for ways to improve your operations.

You might have people who fall in between these two categories. But generally, every individual will favor one over the other.

Now, as an entrepreneur, it’s in your best interest to hire and retain as many owners as possible. Not only will this take your business to new heights, but any time you bring someone new into the company, they’ll be more likely to turn into an owner, if they aren’t already.

On the flip side, if you have a company run by renters, that’s likely what you’ll get from your next hire. Set the standard high and people will rise to meet it.

Become a Role Model

If you want to foster an environment of owners, then you have to embody that yourself. Whatever qualities you want to see in your staff have to start with you.

To be clear, this doesn’t mean you’re always working, nor is that something you should encourage in your company. However, it does mean that you’re always “on” — something I discuss in one of my recent videos.

On a similar note, always be ethical. Be honest and fair in how you treat your team, vendors, clients, customers, and even your competition. This is one of the best qualities a leader can have. If you’re willing to cut corners and do anything for the sake of a dollar, it’s going to cause damage to your team (and your bottom line). Furthermore, once you set that expectation, it’s really hard to convince people that you’ve changed.

Sending the message that you care about doing things the right way will filter down to the people who work for you. They’re going to want to be the same.

Be a Mentor

Don’t assume that just because you’re the boss, you’re automatically a mentor, too. This is something you have to intentionally do. It largely comes down to investing your time and energy in the people keeping the lights on.

This is a win for everyone involved. First, you show your employees that you care beyond the bottom line. Second, you help them advance on their own career paths (which can also be beneficial for the business). Third, you’re further cultivating a team of owners — people who will genuinely want to reciprocate the time and energy that you’ve put into them, back into the business.

On a similar note, you want to encourage people to be coachable. That is, they should be open and receptive to feedback, and willing to try new things. If, instead, they get defensive, that could be a red flag, and it might warrant a conversation.

One important note here. Some people hear this advice and confuse mentoring with micromanaging. This isn’t about controlling everything your team does and constantly standing over their shoulders. It’s about supporting them, hearing them, and giving them what they need in order to do amazing work.

Of course, always deliver direction and feedback with respect, and will be willing to listen yourself! You as the business owner also need to be open and receptive to what others have to say, especially if they disagree with you.

Acknowledge and Reward

So, you’ve followed my advice and it’s all worked like a charm. Your business is better than ever. Now what?

Acknowledge the incredible progress your team has made!

One of the most detrimental things you can do as the leader of your company is to ignore good news and compliments. Very often, teams only hear from the boss when something is wrong. Break this stereotype! Go out of your way to point out the positive efforts, behaviors, and results that you’re seeing as a result of the hard work your folks are putting in.

When you do this, they’ll be inspired to keep it up and maybe even find whole new ways to excel.

So much of this comes down to creating a workplace that people want to spend time in. Building a business that people want to see succeed. Gathering a group of people who actually enjoy being together. If you can do that, then you’re all going to be on the same page about wanting to make the organization as successful as possible.

The conversation isn’t over yet! I have a lot more where that came from. Want even more help building a workplace environment conducive to profitability? Head to YouTube and watch my full video on how to build company culture.