There, right in front of you is the golden door with a sign above it. The sign says “SUCCESS.” All you have to do is open the door and walk through into entrepreneurship’s holy grail. You grab the handle and pull. “Drat!” the door is locked. Who has the key?

We all have the key. It’s right there on our key ring. But there are many keys on the ring and we have to find the right one to open this lock.

If there was one key that opened every door it would be easy. The problem is that each business, even businesses in the same industry, have different key factors for success and we have to discover which key will turn in our lock. For some businesses the door is locked because it can’t get control of labor costs so the “efficiency key” will open the door. A fast-growing business needs more access to capital and the “vault key” will turn the lock. Another business needs to motivate the customer-contact people to become friendly and helpful and they need to find the “customer service key.” Those keys and many more are all there, right on the key ring. The key to the door of success is discovering which key is the “Key Factor For Your Success.”

You might go through all the keys at your disposal one-by-one… The “Strategic Planning key? Jiggle –turn-pull-cross fingers - Nope! The “New Customer Acquisition” key? Jiggle –turn-pull-cross fingers - Nope! The “”Shipping Department Dispatch” key? Jiggle –turn-pull-cross fingers - Nope! This can be a time consuming, long effort.

You might take some time to critically look at your business, go over your financial statements. Compare them to your business plan (No Business Plan? Maybe that’s the Key!) with your financial advisors, survey your customers and prospects, survey your staff. Ask them all probing questions to discover the vital key factors that can radically affect your ability to unlock that door. When you discover and improve your “Key Factors For Success”

Larry Galler coaches and consults with high-performance executives, professionals, and small businesses since 1993. He is the writer of the long-running (every Sunday since November 2001) business column, "Front Lines with Larry Galler" Sign up for his free newsletter at http://www.larrygaller.com Questions??? Send an email to larry@larrygaller.com

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