So many of us want to be our own boss, we see how profitable our skills are for our employers and we decide that we can and should be profitable for ourselves.
This ideology is what makes America go, the whole idea of building a bigger and better mouse trap.
The problem is most of us leave our employers with our ideas and methods with the intention to start or buy our own companies and end up with just another job.
Sure we OWN this job but that's what it is ...
a job, not a business.
The two things are very different.
In a job you work in the day to day details, you are the company.
In a business, you work on the day to day details, you delegate as much as possible to your team.
The business owner is to make the decisions and give direction and lead the team to success.
This is a difficult thing to do when you are in the trenches and can't see 10 feet in front of you.
You need to be out of the trenches overlooking the field of play where you can see the competition ...
you have to have VISION.
VISION is what gives you a competitive edge.
It stands for Value System, Importance, Strategy, Identity, Objective and Niche.
Let's start at the beginning.
Value System: Everybody has a set of values and priorities that guide their decision making process.
In the context of being a business owner, you know what you value and you need to be able to communicate it to your staff associates and customers.
This will allow you to delegate with confidence and set you apart in the market place.
Importance: It's also important to know the benefit of your product or service to the customer.
Business people and sales people often get caught up in the features of our products and services.
Customers however don't buy features they buy benefits.
It's even more important that you can communicate the benefits provided by the feature and not the feature itself.
Strategy: Strategy flows from your value system and the benefits of your product and will also later help you craft your identity and your niche.
Strategy, in short, is the answer to all the "W" questions- who, what, where, when, and how (it has a w in it).
Strategy will be your road map to success including the processes you determine to use.
Identity: From strategy you will begin to develop your identity.
This is the answer to the questions, "Who are you?" and "What do you do?" Every business has an identity.
The question is did they create their own identity or did the market define them? You want to control your own identity.
You must craft it and promote it yourself, otherwise there will be confusion about your business in the market place and might provide obstacles to your success.
Objective: Your ability to be objective is your ability to analyze your success.
You must set tour benchmarks and goals and monitor your progress towards them.
Most small businesses don't have clearly defined goals and if they do, they certainly don't take the time to monitor them and adjust their actions to meet them.
Niche: Most business owners and sales people are taught that everybody is a prospect- a potential customer.
A smart business person knows that this is not true.
Because of the previous things we've talked about, your products and services will not appeal to everybody, they will appeal only to specific demographic, even if your product or service is necessary for everyone.
Nor do you want every person to be a customer.
Remember ...
you have good customers and bad customers; the secret is to focus on gaining more good customers.
In short, if you are thinking about starting a business or taking your business to the next level, make sure you have VISION.
VISION will allow you to more clearly communicate your message to customers, business associates and the rest of your team, who will then be able to more readily repeat it and gain more business for you.
You will be able to see potential problems coming and work out solutions.
You will see opportunities to move ahead in the game.
Without VISION, you will be stuck in the trenches reacting to everything the market and the competition throws at you.
In short you will be stuck in another job ...
instead of owning your own business.
This ideology is what makes America go, the whole idea of building a bigger and better mouse trap.
The problem is most of us leave our employers with our ideas and methods with the intention to start or buy our own companies and end up with just another job.
Sure we OWN this job but that's what it is ...
a job, not a business.
The two things are very different.
In a job you work in the day to day details, you are the company.
In a business, you work on the day to day details, you delegate as much as possible to your team.
The business owner is to make the decisions and give direction and lead the team to success.
This is a difficult thing to do when you are in the trenches and can't see 10 feet in front of you.
You need to be out of the trenches overlooking the field of play where you can see the competition ...
you have to have VISION.
VISION is what gives you a competitive edge.
It stands for Value System, Importance, Strategy, Identity, Objective and Niche.
Let's start at the beginning.
Value System: Everybody has a set of values and priorities that guide their decision making process.
In the context of being a business owner, you know what you value and you need to be able to communicate it to your staff associates and customers.
This will allow you to delegate with confidence and set you apart in the market place.
Importance: It's also important to know the benefit of your product or service to the customer.
Business people and sales people often get caught up in the features of our products and services.
Customers however don't buy features they buy benefits.
It's even more important that you can communicate the benefits provided by the feature and not the feature itself.
Strategy: Strategy flows from your value system and the benefits of your product and will also later help you craft your identity and your niche.
Strategy, in short, is the answer to all the "W" questions- who, what, where, when, and how (it has a w in it).
Strategy will be your road map to success including the processes you determine to use.
Identity: From strategy you will begin to develop your identity.
This is the answer to the questions, "Who are you?" and "What do you do?" Every business has an identity.
The question is did they create their own identity or did the market define them? You want to control your own identity.
You must craft it and promote it yourself, otherwise there will be confusion about your business in the market place and might provide obstacles to your success.
Objective: Your ability to be objective is your ability to analyze your success.
You must set tour benchmarks and goals and monitor your progress towards them.
Most small businesses don't have clearly defined goals and if they do, they certainly don't take the time to monitor them and adjust their actions to meet them.
Niche: Most business owners and sales people are taught that everybody is a prospect- a potential customer.
A smart business person knows that this is not true.
Because of the previous things we've talked about, your products and services will not appeal to everybody, they will appeal only to specific demographic, even if your product or service is necessary for everyone.
Nor do you want every person to be a customer.
Remember ...
you have good customers and bad customers; the secret is to focus on gaining more good customers.
In short, if you are thinking about starting a business or taking your business to the next level, make sure you have VISION.
VISION will allow you to more clearly communicate your message to customers, business associates and the rest of your team, who will then be able to more readily repeat it and gain more business for you.
You will be able to see potential problems coming and work out solutions.
You will see opportunities to move ahead in the game.
Without VISION, you will be stuck in the trenches reacting to everything the market and the competition throws at you.
In short you will be stuck in another job ...
instead of owning your own business.
Source...