Every week when I attend business clinics, eager entrepreneurs ask a variety of questions such as “Should I invest?”, “Should I expand into the international market?”, “Should I start hiring employees?”, “Do I need to invest in a CRM system?”, “Should I hire a social media agency?”.
The list goes on. But if you look deeper, all of these questions boil down to the same fundamental question. Where do you want to take your company?
It seems that much time and attention is never given to the most fundamental question that influences every decision you make as a business owner.
Without a road map or navigation system, would you get in your car and hope to get where you want to go without having any idea of the route? If you don’t like driving (or are a glutton for penalties!), you should probably do a little research on the route first. So why don’t we do it in business?
One of the main reasons is that entrepreneurs don’t want to dream big enough due to limiting beliefs or imposter syndrome. Others think, “Let’s just see where it goes,” or entrepreneurs think that putting together a plan is too much work, especially if it involves a lot of numbers and spreadsheets. So no plan is ever made.
But here lies the problem.
Frustrations arise because you then see other entrepreneurs on social media who seem to be far more successful than you. How did that happen? How did you get there while working hard and focusing on it seven days a week?
What did they do differently?
Chances are they had a plan! Not necessarily very detailed, but they had a clear idea of where they wanted to take their company or career and then what steps they needed to take to get there.
Many of the most successful entrepreneurs suggest “starting with the end in mind.” That is, what will be the end goal of the company in x amount of time? Are you looking to sell for retirement, or are you looking to quickly build up and sell to a larger organization so you can move on to your next business, or are you planning to simply continue the business as a lifestyle business?
The most important thing here is to be really honest with yourself about what you *actually want*. If you like the idea of a multinational, billion-dollar empire, but also like spending your weekends at the pub with your friends and traveling isn’t really your thing, would you actually jump at the opportunity if it came knocking on your door? ? Or do you prefer a work-life balance where you run a smaller empire with less pressure and less travel? It also means that you are really honest about your personality, your abilities and what you enjoy. This is so much more important than comparing yourself to others on social media and falsely believing that everyone around you is doing great things in their career while you feel stuck or drifting.
If you don’t know where to start gaining clarity, a good place to start is to not just focus on financial goals, but to focus on the *experiences* you’d like to have throughout your life. If travel and financial independence are truly important to you, then a company that focuses on an international nomad lifestyle would be a great move. A company that moves to take over premises and more and more staff may not be as conducive if you want to have a travel experience. If you want to see your children grow up and be “present,” then a business or career is right for you to help you achieve your dreams. And that’s okay! So many entrepreneurs I talk to actually breathe a visibly sigh of relief when we talk about the fact that it’s your life’s journey and not someone else’s. So if you just want a lifestyle company that offers the experiences you want to have, the only person stopping you is you. But if you want a billion pound empire, that’s fine too, as long as You’re doing it for yourself, not because your mom, dad, partner, or wife’s second cousin, your hairdresser, thinks you *should* do it.
Once you have real clarity on where you want to take your business, the rest will take care of. Whenever you make a decision, simply ask, “Does what I’m proposing or thinking about fit with my overall vision?” You can then also focus on the skills you need/want to develop to get the experience that you are concentrating on now.
I have a vision board in my office that consists of a collage of images that all represent the experiences I want to have. Friends and family are important to me, so I keep them in mind in every business decision I make. I also want a house abroad, in a hot place! This is also taken into account when making business decisions, as is the most ethical management of the business. Yes, I want my empire to grow significantly and I have a 3 year forecast. But it’s all within the framework of morals and loyalty to myself, my friends and my family — and of course to this villa in 30 degrees!
