A Business Lesson from the Three Little Pigs
One of the most important business moves an entrepreneur can do is make sure that their business is grounded upon a solid foundation. Just like a house, a business cannot survive in an unstable environment or on shaky ground. If for some reason an entrepreneur ignores this concept and moves forward to build their business on uncertainty they are definitely setting themselves up for failure and loss. Trust me when I tell you that successful entrepreneurs know the value of beginning your business venture on the grounds of stability.
Interesting enough, when I think of a business’s foundation I think of the story of the Three Little Pigs. I know this concept may seem a bit odd at first; however, after further analysis it makes perfect sense. As many of you already know each of the pigs built their houses in three distinct ways using three distinct types of materials. In the story, Pig number 1 built his house out of straw. Pig number 2 built his house out of sticks. Pig number 3 built his house out of bricks. In an effort to show the relevance between this story and an entrepreneur’s business foundation I will explain how a foundation built upon straw, sticks and bricks is relevant to entrepreneurial success.
A Business Foundation Built Upon Straw
Straw is the material that is left over after grain is separated from cereal plants. Typically, when you think of straw the thought of animal feed comes to mind versus house building. In the Three Little Pigs story pig number 1 used straw to build his house as a protective measure against the big bad wolf. However, the straw was not a strong enough material and the wolf was able to blow it down making the pig’s house irrelevant.
In the business arena the same fate would occur to an entrepreneur that decided to build their business on a foundation made of straw. Straw, without a strengthening agent is a very weak material. The slightest amount of pressure added to it and it will crumble to the ground. The best analogy to a straw foundation would be a business built upon fabrications. Fabrications could be anything from falsified financial statements, defective products, and other deceitful business practices. An entrepreneur that builds their business based on lies will eventually find themselves at the wrong end of the law; which could not only cost the entrepreneur their overall business but their reputation as well. Bottom line, building a business upon a straw foundation will more than likely have a detrimental outcome.
A Business Foundation Built Upon Sticks
Now, if you are anything like me, you are wondering if a straw house did not work for pig number 1 in the Three Little Pigs Story, then why would pig number 2 build his house of sticks. Well, it’s due to the same reasons entrepreneurs that have had failed businesses in the past repeat the same mistake in their current business. Neither party seemed to have learned their lesson despite the losses. Now unlike straw, sticks have a bit more stability but will still have the same outcome despite this fact. Sticks in the business sector are entities such as non-existent business strategies, irrelevant mission and vision statements, and other overlooked business foundational principles. If an entrepreneur fails to have these key entities in place within their business then the business is bound to fail just as quickly as a business built upon lies and deceit. The result of building a business on a foundation of sticks means that the entrepreneur failed to plan and as a result they subsequently planned to fail.
A Business Foundation Built Upon Bricks
Now pig number 3 understood the value of building his house on a solid foundation. He even accounted for the fact that the other pigs built their house out of mediocre materials and would need a place to stay once it all came tumbling down. As an entrepreneur this is the mindset that is needed to build a business on a foundation of bricks. Bricks can be categorized as investments, information technology, key stakeholders, strong organizational structure, and other business functions that lead to maintaining the competitive advantage. In order to succeed an entrepreneur must build their business on these solid foundational principles. Just like in the story of the Three Little Pigs a house build upon bricks can withstand the harshest of elements and will not fail in the face of uncertainty.