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What do you want out of your business?

Guest post by: Helen Dowling

Article Overview: Do you know what you want out of your business? Helen Dowling from Exceptional Thinking (http://www.exceptionalthinking.co.uk) challenges you to look again.

What do you want out of your business?

At this time of year, small business owners tend to start planning for the following year and thinking about what they want to do with their businesses in the coming months. I’m constantly amazed about how many owners have goals for their business, but… don’t seem 100% happy about them.

The thing is about running a business is that it’s YOUR business – no one says you have to do x, y and z with it, unless you actually WANT to. I always think that we start each day with a blank piece of paper and it’s up to us how we fill it. Now, you may argue that it’s all very well saying that, but you have commitments and things you have to do.

But the difference is that we all have a choice and you don’t have to do your commitments – you CHOOSE to do them.

I was talking to an owner recently who told me they had a really specific goal for their business, but it was obvious from the way he was talking that it didn’t excite him and he didn’t really want to do it – he just thought he should. I challenged him to go away and dump that goal and come up with another one that he wanted to get out of bed in a morning to achieve. He had to feel really passionate about it and want to make it happen.

To his credit, he’s taken that on board and now has a new goal that’s very ambitious, but one that he’s truly excited about and wants to do – you can hear the passion in his voice when he talks about it and see it in his eyes.

And what about another business owner I was talking to the other day who had committed to lots of different activities with lots of different people. She didn’t feel excited about them and was already questioning why she was doing it. We talked this through and she came to the decision that she didn’t want to do these activities and although it was going to be hard, she would talk to the people she’d committed to and stop doing them. The relief that came over her was immense.

So, have a long hard look at your business. Do you have goals or things you’d like to achieve? Do they really make you feel excited, passionate and motivated to get out of bed in a morning? If the answer is yes, great…go for it! If the answer is no, maybe it’s time to go back to basics and think about what you actually do want out of your business. Until you know the answer to that question, it’s always going to be an uphill struggle, but surprisingly, when you know the answer, everything else will fall into place.

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Article Tags: blank piece of paper, business owner, commitments, passion, piece of paper, running a business, small business owners



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Re: Is A Business Plan A Waste Of Time? - I don't see a business plan a waste of time. Actually it's a great goal-setting tool for a business and it also helps evaluate a business' performance which allows the business owner to see where the business is going. Others say that it is only important when seeking funding from lenders or banks, but I believe it is more than that, that's why I have mine written and it's a work in progress since I first started in business.
Is A Business Plan A Waste Of Time? - According to various government statistics, up to 80% of businesses will fail within their first five years of operation. That number is staggering to me. At the same time, when I look at most business owners, most of them do not have a business plan for where they want to go. When you ask entrepreneurs why they don’t have a business plan, most of them will say something like: “it’s too much work”, “I’m not trying to raise money”, “it’s all in my head already”, or “my business changes too often for a business plan to be worthwhile.” Sound familiar? Did you write a business plan for your company when you first started? Are you planning on doing it for your new business idea?
Is "Good" - Good Enough - I was just reading the thread about whether people need a business plan and this idea hit me. Someone commented that if you don't have a business plan and you're doing all right - then why spend the time or money. But, is doing good or doing all right - good enough? Maybe you're a business that is getting by and making the bills. What if, taking the time to really evaluate your business with a detailed business plan could help you see places to make some changes which could take your business to the next level? Would it be worth your time? I think it would definitely be worth the time. That could be because I've worked with a number of business owners who were "getting by", but once they committed to having someone evaluate the business - they saw a drastic increase in their revenue. So, why couldn't or wouldn't an entrepreneur do an evaluation to determine where the business is, where it isn't working and where it should be going? This could be done in a business plan format. Just some random thoughts. Shri
answer this question - I dont know if this is posted in the right area, or if its been asked heaps of times already. Tell us something BAD you have done in your business that could have potentially(or has) destroyed/ended your business, or that has effected your business in a BIG way. OR, is there something GOOD you have done in your business that has really benefited you in a BIG way.
Re: Unsecured Lines of Credit - Hello, creditguru: Thanks for the recommendation. Here are two questions for you that will further help our forum members to make use of your suggestion: 1. How [u:p6n6npsx]does[/u:p6n6npsx] a business establish a strong business credit profile? (Especially small business and home business.) Please provide some tips or guidelines on how to do this effectively. 2. Commercial credit lines can be helpful to a business, but they do require responsible management on the part of the business owner. What tips, recommendations or cautions can you offer to business owners who are considering commercial lines of credit? Thanks. GT :-]


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