Tweet

The Visionary Entrepreneur

Written by: Joe Love

Article Overview: Eighty percent of all new businesses fail in their first five years. The reason is that most people who start their own business never have a vision or a clear picture of what their business will look like or how it will work. To be successful your business must function like a machine.

The Visionary Entrepreneur

Any success you have in life must begin with a vision. A vision is the ability to see what others cannot see. It is being able to have a picture in your mind of exactly the result you intend to produce. The visionary entrepreneur is able to see exactly what his or her business is going to look like in every detail when it is finished.

What do I mean by finished? A business is an investment. You are building an asset. And any asset whether it is, a stock, real estate, or a business must have an exit strategy before you start. Once your business is working exactly how you envisioned it, in every detail, you are either going to sell it, or you are going to keep it, which means you are buying it yourself. And if you buy your own business, you’d better make sure that it is worth the price you pay for it.

Let’s look at the difference between a business owner and an entrepreneur. A business owner starts a business to be his or her own boss or to create a secure job for himself or herself. They usually start a business in his or her own field of knowledge. Rarely does a business owner have a vision of what they want for their life, let alone for their business. So, they end up working in their business day in and day out, and they end up being nothing but an overworked and underpaid employee.
An entrepreneur on the other hand, builds a business because it is exciting and challenging. It requires every part of them to make it successful.

Visionary entrepreneurs have a picture, a clear vision of how that business is going to work in every detail and the result it is going to produce. They never work in their business; rather they work on their business. An entrepreneur rarely starts a business in his or her own field of knowledge. They put the right system in place to make their vision become a reality. An entrepreneur looks at systems. They don’t get tied up in the day to day activities of their business and this frees the owner up to start a new business. He or she can also sell their existing business, or they can even take it public. This is why an entrepreneur like Donald Trump can run as many as 50 businesses at one time.

Michael Gerber, author of the E-Myth, says that the purpose of any business is to give the owner more life. Its purpose is to free the owner from working in it. If your business is not giving you the freedom to live the life you want to live, then it is taking your life away from you.
One of the main reasons you should start a business is to create excessive cash flow. The excessive cash flow will allow you the extra money and free time to keep building more businesses. Another reason to build a business is to sell it. Always remember, you’re building a valuable asset. For something to be valuable there must be many more people than you who want it.

Before you build a business you have to ask yourself some important questions. Why are you starting this business? What are you building your business to do and for whom? Who is your customer going to be (include both demographics and psychographics)? What is your strategic objective going to be? Is your business going to be local, regional, national, international? How many locations or branches are you going to have? How is your business going to operate? What are the gross revenues of your business going to be? What are the profits going to be (pre-taxed net and after taxed net)?
And the two most important questions of all are; “What must your business look like, in order for it to give you the kind of life you desire?” “What will your business look like when it is finished?” You have to have a vision of how your business will work, down to the last detail so that your prospects are amazed at how you produce the results they want and expect every time they purchase from you.

An entrepreneur sets up a series of systems for his or her business. Just as your body is made up of different systems in order to be able to function at maximum efficiency, your business must have certain systems as well.

Here is a list of ten systems that a business must have, if it is to be successful.

1. Daily Office Operations System

2. Product or Service Development System

3. Inventory System

4. Order Processing System

5. Billing and Accounts Receivable System

6. Customer Service System

7. Accounts Payable System

8. Marketing System

9. Human Resources System

10. General Accounting System

Now if you are a small business made up of one or two people, you may be saying, “I can’t afford to hire the people to do all of those things!” What you have to understand is that these systems are simply functions that any business must have to be successful. Whether you are doing it or someone else, your business must be performing each of these functions. Once your business is performing each of these functions automatically and with optimal efficiency, it then frees you up to do other things. And that’s what a visionary entrepreneur does.

A system gives the owner control. A system should work so that the owner doesn’t have to. A system also empowers employees and gives them control. Most importantly a system gives your customers control. When people buy from a business they want to feel in control. If your business has a system in place that will give them a predictable result every time they purchase from you, then they feel in control.

The visionary entrepreneur uses leverage to his or her full advantage. Leverage is simply the ability to do more with less. The internet is a great form of leverage, because you are able to reach and serve millions of people very quickly and inexpensively. Education is another great form of leverage. Entrepreneurs are constantly learning new things every day. This gives them great leverage over most of society that doesn’t bother with continuous education. By putting in a series of systems into the business the visionary entrepreneur is giving himself or herself tremendous leverage with other people’s time. Having a system in place leverages it to perform significantly better than the competition at lower costs, with higher impact, and with greater predictability.
The visionary entrepreneur constantly thinks in terms of innovation. Innovation is the process of constantly looking for and better ways of doing business. It is the process of constantly coming up with better and more cost effective ways of bringing your products and services to your prospects and customers. As author and management consultant Peter Drucker said, “A business has only one function and that is to create a customer.” The only way you do that is with marketing and innovation. Everything else are just costs and expenses of doing business.

A visionary entrepreneur looks at his or her business as a franchise prototype. Even if it is not going to be a franchise, by envisioning their business as a franchise prototype, they are able to put a system in place that can be replicated whether they create another one or not. And it is the system that an entrepreneur puts in place that not only frees him or her from having to work in the business but also gives the customer the exact result he or she wants and expects every time.
Here’s another great question you should ask yourself before you start your business, If your business were a prototype for 500 or 1,000 others just like it, how would you approach your business?

The entrepreneurial vision is not about creating new products or services. It is all about creating a better way of doing something that enriches people’s lives. Your vision should give you a clear and focused intention of exactly what you want for your life and for your business. When you have a clear and focused vision you can take any ordinary business and make it perform in an extraordinary way. When you do this any business you build will achieve extraordinary results.

Copyright© 2005 by Joe Love and JLM & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.

Joe Love draws on his 25 years of experience helping both individuals and companies build their businesses, increase profits, and achieve total success. A former ad agency executive and marketing consultant, he is the founder and CEO of JLM & Associates, a consulting and training organization, specializing in personal and business development. Through his seminars and lectures, Joe Love addresses thousands of men and women each year, including the executives and staffs of many businesses around the world on the subjects of leadership, achievement, goals, strategic business planning, and marketing.

Reach Joe at: joe@jlmandassociates.com

Read more articles and newsletters at: http://www.jlmandassociates.com

Related Articles
  Entrepreneurship Is Very Closely Associated With Your Risk Taking Abilities
  How Entrepreneurs will Succeed by Doing Less
  How entrepreneurs stay motivated
  Company Vision, Mission, and Values, What’s the Difference?
  3 Primary Reason to Become An Entrepreneur

Article Tags:



Related Forum Posts
Young Entrepreneur Organization - All You Need To Know - The Young Entrepreneur Organization (YEO) is a global community of entrepreneurs. This non-profit organization aims to make its members successful in their business through networking and training programs. This article tells you all you need to know about the Young Entrepreneur Organization, and the opportunities it makes available to young entrepreneurs from across the world. Young Entrepreneur Organization: Facts. 1) The Young Entrepreneur Organization has 5,000 members in 35 countries across the world. 2) The organization was founded in 1987. Since then, it has helped many aspiring entrepreneurs with training facilities and getting in touch with the right people. 3) The average age of the members of Young Entrepreneur Organization is 34 years. 4) In order to be eligible for the membership of Young Entrepreneur Organization, you need to be under the age of 40; and be the founder or partner in a business that has annual sales of more than $1 million. World Entrepreneurs Organization: A part of the Young Entrepreneur Organization, the World Entrepreneur Organization and takes the message of Young Entrepreneur Organization to many additional places around the world. This organization is especially active in the area of education and training for entrepreneurs. Young Entrepreneur Organization: Objectives. 1) To foster entrepreneurship. 2) To support Young Entrepreneur Organization members by providing them the chance to network and grow. 3) To provide resources to its members so that they can benefit the economy through innovative business ideas. 4) According to Young Entrepreneur Organization, you get to share your story with those who have had similar experiences, and thus gain insight into the best principles of entrepreneurship. Young Entrepreneur Organization: Facilities. At the Young Entrepreneur Organization, you get to meet and share views with like-minded people and fellow entrepreneurs. In order to facilitate a free exchange of ideas and growth for its member, the Young Entrepreneur Organization provides the following facilities to members. 1) Forum: Join the forum of the Young Entrepreneur Organization and start networking with entrepreneurs from across the world. Each forum group has 12 members who come together regularly to share their experiences and discuss issues related to entrepreneurship. 2) Mentor: In conjunction with the World Presidents’ Organization, the Young Entrepreneur Organization guides and counsels young entrepreneurs through a mentor program by the best business leaders. 3) Social Innovation: The Social Innovators Program involves Young Entrepreneur Organization member who wish to do something for about social issues. It helps members become socially aware citizens and gives them the opportunity to do something for their community. 4) Marketplace: The marketplace allows members to post business offers and receive replies from other members. These are just some of the facilities you will get if you become part of the Young Entrepreneur Organization. Others, like meeting prospective clients through trade shows, and special tools to network and meet with the right people are also part of the YEO facilities.
How to create BUZZ? - As a small startup we need to be able to create Buzz around our product, but we haven't had tons of success. Despite being written up in the Toronto Sun, Metro News, Entrepreneur Start Ups Magazine and listed as a resource in Entrepreneur Magazine people in Toronto still don't know about us. Any ideas on what I can do to get people talking? Preferable ones that don't have a large price tag attached? Any ideas would be appreciated. Our URL is included in my signature.
Re: Top 50 Lists - Hi Evan, How about "Top 50": -Inventor Blogs To Watch -Franchising Blogs To Watch -Business Book Review Blogs -Women Entrepreneur Blogs -Young Entrepreneur Blogs
Re: EC Forum Badge? - [quote="Evan":3r7km12d]I'm not sure I understand your point about the caps - you're saying everything should be capitalized except for Entrepreneur Forums?[/quote:3r7km12d] This is exactly how I think it should be as far as capitalization... [quote:3r7km12d]I'm a moderator for the Entrepreneur Forums, a friendly community of entrepreneurs. Click here to learn more![/quote:3r7km12d]
Write ups not successful? - [quote:2kry5vyo] Despite being written up in the Toronto Sun, Metro News, Entrepreneur Start Ups Magazine and listed as a resource in Entrepreneur Magazine people in Toronto still don't know about us. [/quote:2kry5vyo] At the risk of sounding cruel...which I do not mean to be... ifyou're getting those kinds of writeups, people in Toronto [i:2kry5vyo]must [/i:2kry5vyo]know about you. It might be that you're just not offering a service that the majority of them want or need. Time to expand into other areas or just change fields entirely?


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Stress: What Causes It and How To Deal With It

Ten Things You Can Do To Be a Better Leader

Quick Tips on Buying a Business

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.