[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1548289356400{background-color: #bcbcbc !important;}”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”4565″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1753491520376{padding-right: 19px !important;padding-left: 19px !important;}”]As a business owner it is important to know where you want your business to be in the future. Without clear direction as to where the business is going, you will not achieve the level of success you are wanting. Having a clear direction is an important aspect of any journey. Begin with the end in mind, where do you want your business and personal life to be moving forward?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]
Chapter 5: Choose Your Direction
Many times, when business owners are struggling, they think they just need to work harder and harder and that will change things. It rarely does. What does work is slowing down and taking a bird’s-eye view of your business to observe the current state or your reality. Where is your business today? Be honest with yourself. You have to know where you really are. There cannot be any self-deception or unwillingness to see reality; just tell the truth.
I know slowing down does not sound like the key to success. In fact, it probably sounds like the last thing you should do. But trust me: Running faster and faster in the wrong direction is a critical mistake. Stop and observe where you are. Does it look anything like what you envisioned it would look like when you started your business? Are you where you thought you would be both personally and professionally?
One of my early clients, we will call him Tim, had been working in his business for five years and had finally made a small profit. He was discouraged that the hard work and effort had not paid off as he originally thought it should, so he called me. He explained what was going on in his business and that he had decided to sell it and do something else. Together we came to the conclusion that he would sell his business in two years. In order to do so there were some things we needed to accomplish in order to make the business more appealing to a potential buyer. The first step was to completely understand his current state. The next step was to determine a clear direction. Since we knew he would sell the business in two years, we worked backwards from there. In doing so, we determined that he would need to start documenting his processes and procedures so that anyone new could come in and figure out how to run the business without Tim’s involvement.
The next step was to develop a plan of action on how to bridge the gap between his current state and his desired future to sell the business. Then, of course, he would have to begin executing on the plan. This is where the difficulty came in for Tim. He had not been focused on his business. He was distracted by a variety of things, including social media, so much so that he would come to work every day but accomplish very little.
With clear direction and a map for the business, we made a plan of action to get Tim to be more focused on his business. I had Tim promise me that he would give me four hours a day, from 8 a.m. until noon, of complete focus on his business. He was responsible for eliminating any distractions that took him away from that focus. After noon, I told him, I did not care what he did. He could go play golf, dive into social media, play video games, anything. It did not matter as long as he gave me those four hours of uninterrupted time every day, and he agreed. Once Tim had a clear direction and a plan of action, he became motivated to be intensely focused on his business to get it ready to sell.
A funny thing happened along the journey. The very next year Tim’s business had a 540 percent increase in revenue. Suddenly Tim was highly motivated by the results he was getting and began second-guessing his decision to sell his business. He had a clear vision of where he wanted to go, a map to his destination, and a plan of action on how to get his business there. He had also been intensely focused for at least four hours per day over many months, which generated amazing results. Now he was highly motivated and no longer wanted to sell the business. It is remarkable what a clear sense of direction can do.
Working Backwards
Before you begin any journey, you need to know where you are setting out from, your starting point. I recommend developing a personal and business balance sheet to determine where you are currently. There are numerous items you can address on your balance sheet. Here are some questions you can ask yourself:
– What is my current financial situation?
– How many hours per week am I working?
– Am I in control of my business or is the business running me?
– How much time am I spending working in the business versus on the business?
– If I take an extended vacation, will the business continue to operate smoothly?
– Am I able to regularly spend time with family and friends?
– Do I have time for volunteer work or other interests outside of work?
Of course you should add your own questions based on matters important to you and your quality of life. Once you have been completely honest about where you are, it is time to think about what you want the future to look like for your business and your personal life.
I stress this with all of my clients: Do not neglect to consider your personal life. You need to acknowledge what you want both personally and in your business. You have a life, and more often than not your personal and business lives are intimately intertwined. You cannot consider one without considering the other.
I advise creating a vision of the future five years from this day. You want to go out five years from now and describe what that is going to look like for you in your business and your personal life. How many employees do you want to have? How much money do you want to make? How big of a business do you want? How many weeks of vacation do you want to take? Describe it in writing, but stick to about six or seven items. Then work backwards from that.
If you want to be at this particular future state in five years, where do you need to be three years from now? Write that down as well. Use the same six or seven items, and describe what each looks like in three years. Then work backwards again: Where do you want to be a year from now? If you need to be at a certain point in three years, where do you need to be a year from now?
What would your business look like if money, time, and energy were no object?
You need to be bold when you think about this and describe it. Write it down, and read it often. Give yourself permission to dream big. It is your life and your business. Why not dream big?
Do not let your small business make you small-minded. This is a common pitfall. You did not start your business by thinking small. Why not think really big and imagine the future that you want? John F. Kennedy was not thinking small when he announced we would put a man on the moon in ten years. We did not even have the technology to do it then. It had to be created. Think outside of your own box. And if you are unable to think outside the box because you are in the box, get a mentor or a coach to help you to see more clearly.
Put It in Writing
Writing it all down is part of the process. It is not sufficient to see it in your mind, you must write it down. Maybe that seems tedious, or even childish, but do not talk yourself out of doing it. Your mind is a powerful tool if you put it to work on your behalf. The shear act of writing down your vision of the future puts your subconscious mind to work to help you to make it happen, even when you are not thinking about it.
I remember hearing author and motivational speaker Brian Tracy tell a crowd that if they took a blank piece of paper and wrote down ten things they wanted to accomplish in the next year and then folded the piece of paper in half, dated it, put it away, and did not look at it for the entire year, a year later they would have accomplished seven or eight of the items on the list. He guaranteed it. This is due to putting the power of the subconscious mind to work.
Now imagine how powerful this principle would be if you not only wrote it down, but you read it every day, even twice a day. You can dream and create the future you want by putting the power of your subconscious mind to work to help you achieve your dreams.
Think about it this way: If you decide to take a thousand-mile journey, you need to know where you want to end up. Certainly when you board an airplane, you know where you are going. If you do not pay attention to where you want to end up, you most likely will not arrive at your destination. It is no different in life or in business.
When I worked in the corporate world, I had an airplane at my disposal to save time getting from one location to another. Traveling at 160 mph in an airplane gets you where you want to go in a big hurry, but you had better know where that is.
Don’t Be Like Alice
In the story of Alice in Wonderland, Alice is looking for a way out of Wonderland. When she comes to a crossroad, she turns to the Cheshire Cat sitting there and says, ìI just wanted to ask you which way I ought to go?î The Cheshire Cat then tells her that it depends on where she wants to be. Alice says she does not know, and the Cheshire Cat smiles and says, ìThen it does not matter which way you go.î
Without a clear direction, you will be just like Alice. It does not matter which road you take if you do not know where you want to go but of course it is unlikely you will end up where you want to be. Surprisingly, few business owners take the time to set a destination for their business (or for their personal life). How can you define success if you do not know exactly what you want the future to look like?
Not only do you need to know where you want to go, you have to know where you are currently if you are going to get from A to B. A is your current state, and B is your destination or desired future. To chart a course, you must be truthful about where you are. No pretending. No denial. If you took a 30,000-foot view of your business and your personal life, how would you describe it? That is your current state. Understanding that is a critical part of charting a course to the future.
I suggest to my clients that they read their five-year, three-year, and one-year visions every day. Doing so is a powerful tool for creating the future you want and putting your subconscious mind to work for you.
Success Steps
- Spend time understanding your current state or reality.
- Envision your business and personal life five years from now.
- Work backwards to plan what you want your business and life to look like three years from now and one year from now to keep you on track toward your five-year vision.
- Write this vision out.
- Read it every day to put the power of your subconscious mind to work.
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It’s Not Hard, It’s Business
Fundamental Steps to help business owners learn what it takes to grow their business and increase their revenue.
As the former GM and COO of a $40 million company with seven locations I have learned what it takes to be successful in business. In this book, I share some keys to sustainable business growth and acceleration and the way to close the gap between your performance and your dreams.
You didn’t go into business to just get by, you got into it to succeed. Follow our series on the website and get your desktop reference copy from Amazon.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”4271″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]
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BUSINESS BREAKTHROUGH #5
