Mike McKay
July 20, 2026
Most business owners fail because they’re running their business in reaction mode. They chase tactics, put out fires, and hope something sticks.
There is a simpler way, and that is to run it with strategy. Strategy starts with a solid foundation and builds upward through a proven model. At ActionCOACH, we’ve helped tens of thousands of business owners in over 80 countries make that shift, and in this blog, we’ll start to describe that model.
First, the Foundation: Vision, Mission, Culture, and Org Chart
Before you can grow a business strategically, you have to have a foundation to build it on. Every business has four elements to its foundation. The problem comes when you don’t acknowledge that you either set these intentionally, or the business sets them for you and that generally results in a high level of work and chaos.
Vision. What is your 100-year objective? That’s your vision. Ours is World Abundance Through Business Re-education. Without that north star, every decision is a guess, and every opportunity looks equally good. A clear vision gives you a filter for every strategic choice you make.
Mission. Why does your business exist, and what does it do for the people it serves? Your mission is the engine behind the vision. It’s what keeps you and your team aligned when the day-to-day gets messy. Ours is to create 1000 millionaires among independent business owners in Wisconsin.
Culture. How do you and your team behave when no one’s watching? Culture is made up of behaviors that determine whether your vision and mission actually get lived out. A business with a strong culture attracts better people, keeps better clients, and executes strategy faster. You can call these Core Values or something similar, but they are absolutely critical to a great foundation.
Org Chart. Who does what, and who is accountable for it? A scalable business isn’t built around the owner doing everything. In fact, that is a highly limiting situation. Yet, even if you’re wearing every hat today, designing the org chart of your future business tells you exactly which roles to hire, delegate, or systematize and when to do that.
With your foundation in place, growth won’t just cause you to be “busier.” Since you’ll be able to grow, you’ll need a consistent growth engine. That’s where we apply the “5 Ways.”
Your Growth Engine is called the “5 Ways.”
When it comes to growing your business, many entrepreneurs are overwhelmed by the endless menu of marketing and sales tactics. Strategically, though, there are only five levers that matter. We call these the “5 Ways.” They are the levers you can pull to create a growing business, and while not easy, they are pretty simple.
Lever #1. Number of Leads
This is the top of your sales funnel. How many potential clients are you attracting? More leads means more opportunities to convert them into paying customers. IF you have your sales process dialed in.
Lever #2. Conversion Rate
Of the leads you generate, how many become clients? This metric directly drives revenue because even a small improvement in conversion can produce significant gains.
Lever #3. Number of Transactions
How many times per year do your clients buy from you? Increasing purchase frequency can dramatically boost revenue without spending a dollar on new lead generation.
Lever #4. Average Dollar Sale
How much do clients spend each time they buy? Knowing this number reveals opportunities to upsell, cross-sell, and package your offerings for a higher average sale.
And Lever #5. Margins
What gross or net margin does your business achieve? This is where revenue becomes profit. Small improvements in margin can create massive increases in your bottom line.
This framework, well, works.
Here’s why this framework is so powerful. Massive results come from small, compounding improvements. Increase each of these 5 areas by just 10%, and your profit will grow by 61%. It’s the simple math of business. It works all over the world, and it works in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, too.
That’s the difference between running a business and running it strategically. Tactics ask, “What should I try next?” Strategy says, “Which of these five numbers, improved, moves my business closest to my vision?”
A strategic business works like this:
Step 1. Build the foundation — clarify your vision, mission, culture, and org chart so every decision has a framework behind it.
Step 2. Benchmark your 5 Ways — know your current numbers, so you know exactly where you stand.
Step 3. Select the right strategies — choose from tactics proven across thousands of businesses worldwide, tailored to your unique situation.
Step 4. Implement, test, and measure — track results, refine your approach, and keep what works.
The ultimate objective? Reduce customer acquisition cost, increase the lifetime value of your “A” grade clients, and build a business that runs on strategy instead of stress.
Building a bigger and better business doesn’t have to be complicated — but it does have to be strategic. Start with a foundation of vision, mission, culture, and structure. Then use the “5 Ways” as your roadmap for growth. At ActionCOACH, we’re committed to helping you unlock your business’s full potential. Let’s get started today!
Check out next week’s blog — we’ll dive into the first of the 5 Ways: how to increase your number of leads.
Want to see the 5 Ways in action? Check out our YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/uXAD0ALyDeA?si=JY3QZ22eflAzA7tq