Building a Business That Lasts: How Tried And Tested Models Can Work Better Together

Building a Business That Lasts: How Maslow, The 7Ps, And The 8 Accelerators Of Change Work Together

By Contextualised Learning Resources

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Starting a new business is exciting, but it can also feel overwhelming. Many new entrepreneurs, especially migrants starting out, ask the same questions: Where do I begin? How do I attract customers? How do I make sure my business grows?

The good news is there are proven models that make this process easier. By combining Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the 7Ps of Marketing, and Kotter’s 8 Accelerators of Change, you can follow a step-by-step path to build a strong business. Together, these frameworks explain what customers need, how you can meet those needs, and when to act to create growth.

1. Maslow’s Needs and Business Success

Maslow’s hierarchy shows us the stages of human needs, from basic survival to reaching our full potential. When applied to business, it explains why customers make certain choices and how businesses can connect with them.

  1. Physiological needs: Customers first need products or services that meet basic needs, like affordable food, safe housing, or essential services.
  2. Safety needs:  They want reliability and trust, such as a cleaning service that always arrives on time or a home repair business that follows safety rules.
  3. Belonging and love:  Customers look for connection. For example, a café that creates a friendly space where people feel welcome.
  4. Esteem needs:  They seek recognition and quality, such as choosing a business with good reviews or professional presentation.
  5. Cognitive and aesthetic needs:  Customers start to value knowledge, creativity, and style in the products and services they choose.
  6. Self-actualisation:  At this stage, businesses that innovate and help people grow stand out.
  7. Transcendence:  The highest level, where a business inspires and contributes to the community, for example by giving back or supporting local jobs.

Developing cultural awareness, a skill under the core skills for Work framework used in formal training courses in Australia, understanding these needs helps you see why customers might choose one business over another. It also naturally helps humans improve you critical thinking, creativity, and innovation skills, required skills to create new products and services to adapt to change in your market.

BR team map1

2. The 7Ps of Marketing: Tools to Meet Needs

The 7Ps of marketing are the practical tools every small business can use:

  1. Product:  What you sell. For example, freshly cooked meals, gardening services, or online tutoring.
  2. Place:  Where customers find you, such as local markets, Facebook groups, or online platforms.
  3. Price:  How much you charge. Migrants often start with competitive prices to attract first customers.
  4. Promotion:  How you spread the word, including flyers, word-of-mouth, or social media.
  5. Process:  The way you deliver your service, like having clear booking systems or quick delivery.
  6. Physical evidence:  Proof that your business is real and trustworthy, such as uniforms, receipts, reviews, or a professional website.
  7. People:  The face of your business:  you, your staff, and how you treat customers.

 

Each “P” gives you a way to meet the needs explained in Maslow’s hierarchy.

Maslow's 7Ps startup process

Outcome for compliance: RTOs can show auditors exactly how they trialled, validated, and embedded changes, closing the loop on industry engagement.

3. Kotter’s 8 Accelerators of Change: The Order of Growth

Starting a business also means managing change:  moving from an idea to a real, working business. This is where Kotter’s 8 Accelerators of Change guide the order of action:

  1. Create urgency:  Recognise the need. For example, “There is demand in Logan for affordable home cleaning:  I need to act now.”
  2. Build a guiding coalition:  Bring supporters on board, like family, mentors, or community networks.
  3. Form a vision and initiatives:  Define what your business stands for and how it will grow.
  4. Enlist a volunteer army:  Spread the word and get early supporters or customers to promote you.
  5. Enable action by removing barriers:  Overcome challenges like language barriers, permits, or lack of resources.
  6. Generate short-term wins:  Celebrate small successes, such as getting your first 10 paying customers.
  7. Sustain acceleration:  Keep going, even when it’s tough. Build momentum by improving systems and learning from mistakes.
  8. Institute change:  Make it stick. Your business becomes part of the local community and continues to grow.

 

Kotters-8-Accelerators-for-Leading-Change

How They Work Together

  1. Maslow explains what customers need.
  2. The 7Ps explain how you can meet those needs.
  3. Kotter explains when and in what order you should act.

 

For example, imagine a migrant starting a home-cooked meal delivery service:

  1. Maslow shows that affordable, safe, healthy meals meet both physiological and safety needs.
  2. The 7Ps guide how to set the Product (healthy meals), Price (affordable), Place (local delivery), Promotion (Facebook and community word of mouth), and so on.
  3. Kotter’s steps show how to launch: first by creating urgency, then building a small coalition of local families who try the meals, then growing through short-term wins before making the service a permanent community business.

 

Idea-inception-implementation-business-startup

Practical Tips for Migrants

  • Start small, aim big:  Begin with one clear product or service that meets a real need.
  • Use community networks:  Word-of-mouth is powerful in Logan’s multicultural community.
  • Build trust:  Focus on safety, reliability, and quality to move up Maslow’s ladder.
  • Start small, aim big:  Begin with one clear product or service that meets a real need.
  • Use community networks:  Word-of-mouth is powerful in Logan’s multicultural community.
  • Build trust:  Focus on safety, reliability, and quality to move up Maslow’s ladder.

Conclusion

  • Building a business is a journey, but by following Maslow’s hierarchy, applying the 7Ps of marketing, and using Kotter’s 8 Accelerators to guide your steps, you create a clear path forward.

    For migrant entrepreneurs, this approach means you don’t have to guess. You can follow a process that shows you what customers want, how to deliver it, and when to act to make your business thrive.
Outside of the rest of the class

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