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Every week, when I attend business clinics, enthusiastic entrepreneurs ask a wide range of questions, such as ‘Should I invest?’, ‘Should I expand into the international market?’, ‘Should I hire staff?’, Should I invest in a CRM system?”, “should I hire a Social Media agency?”.
The list goes on. But if you drill down deeper, all these questions come back to the same fundamental question. Where do you want to go with your company?
It seems like the most fundamental question, one that influences every decision you make as a business owner, never gets much time and attention.
Without a road map or navigation system, would you jump into your car and hope to get somewhere vaguely where you wanted to go, without having any idea of the route? Unless you love driving (or are a glutton for punishment!) you’ll probably want to do some research on the route first. Why don’t we do that in business?
One of the main reasons is that business owners don’t want to dream big enough due to limiting beliefs or imposter syndrome. Others think “let’s see where it goes”, or entrepreneurs think creating a plan is too much work, especially if it involves a lot of numbers and spreadsheets. So a plan never comes into being.
But here’s the problem.
Frustrations arise because you then see other entrepreneurs on social media who want to be much more successful than you. How did that happen? How did they get there when you worked your butt off 7 days a week?
What did they do differently?
Chances are they had a plan! Nothing super detailed, but they had a clear vision of where they wanted to go with their business or career and the steps they needed to take next to get there.
Many of the most successful entrepreneurs will suggest “Start with the end in mind.” That is, in x amount of time, what will be the end goal of the company. Do you want to sell for retirement, or do you want to build up quickly and sell to a larger organization so you can start your next venture, or do you plan to run the business solely as a lifestyle business?
The most important thing here is to be very honest with yourself about what you *actually want*. If the idea of a multinational multi-billion dollar empire appeals to you, but you also like to spend your weekends in the pub with your friends, and traveling isn’t really your thing, would you really jump at the opportunity if it knocked on your door? ? Or do you prefer a work-life balance, running a smaller empire with less pressure and less travel? It also means being very honest about your personality and abilities, and about what you like. This is so much more important than comparing yourself to others on social media and falsely believing that everyone around you is making a huge success of their career, while you are stuck or drifting.
If you don’t know where to start to gain clarity, a good starting point is to not just focus on financial goals, but to focus on the *experiences* you would like to have during your lifetime. If travel and financial independence are really important to you, then a company that focuses on an international nomadic lifestyle would be a great move. A business drifting towards hiring premises and more and more staff may not be as conducive if nomadic travel is the experience you want to have. If you want to experience your children growing up and being ‘present’, a business or career that allows for that is where you can make your dreams come true. And that’s okay! In fact, so many entrepreneurs I speak to breathe a visible sigh of relief when we talk about the fact that it’s your life’s journey and no one else’s, so if you just want to have a lifestyle business that delivers the experiences you want to have, the the only thing holding you back is you. But if you want a billion pound empire, that’s fine too, as long as you’re doing it for yourself and not because your mother’s second cousin/partner/hairdresser’s wife thinks you *should* do it.
Once you have real clarity about where you want to take your business, the rest will fall into place. With every decision you simply ask: ‘Does what I am proposing or thinking about fit into the overall vision I have?’ You can then focus on the skills you need/want to develop to realize the experiences you are currently focusing on.
I have a vision board in my office, which consists of a collage of photos that all represent the experiences I want to have. Friends and family are important to me, so I take that into account in every business decision I make. I also want a house abroad, somewhere warm! This is also kept in mind when making business decisions, as well as conducting business operations as ethically as possible. Yes, I would like my empire to grow significantly, and I have a three-year forecast. But it’s all within the constraints of staying ethical and true to myself, my friends and family – and of course to that 30 degree villa!