(Akiit.com) Keeping a business running is more difficult than most people think. Starting a business is already a massive undertaking that requires a serious amount of dedication and money. However, most startups will end up failing within a decade of starting up because they’re just not thinking about the future. They fail to establish long-term goals and they don’t have long-term plans to keep their business operational.
This is a surprisingly common theme among business owners and it usually stems from a lack of vision. For example, many entrepreneurs understand that startup failure is common, hence why many of them are content when their business starts failing after a decade. “It was a good run” they’ll tell themselves, patting themselves on the back for lasting so long. Unfortunately, it’s starting to make defeatist attitudes far too common and something needs to be done.
So in this post, we’re going to talk about what your business needs to stay alive for longer. Not just for a few years or a decade–we’re talking long-term staying power that will ensure your children grow up with the option of taking over your successful business and securing financial security at a young age.
Having a business vision is 50% of the work
It’s easy to tell someone to “have a business vision” but many people don’t understand what it entails. A business vision is essentially a mental image that you have of your business. Look at your current business and try to imagine what things would be like if you have 100 times the customers or 500 times the popularity. What would your business look like under these circumstances? Would you have multiple locations? Would you be producing your own goods instead of outsourcing them? Would you be working remotely to help set up offices in other countries?
Having a mental image of your business in the future can be surprisingly difficult. Many people can dream of what they want their business to be, but tempering those expectations to ground yourself in realistic goals can be tricky. It’s easy to say something like “I want to beat tech giants such as Apple” but the reality is that you’re probably not going to make it. Having a vision that is virtually impossible can even be a detriment because you’re essentially lying to your staff and yourself.
This is where it gets tricky to have a vision for your business. It’s hard to balance your vision between what’s realistic and what’s fantasy. So here are a few tips to help you out:
- Define both short-term and long-term goals instead of just focusing on the future. Achieving these goals, even if they’re something simple that can be accomplished in a week, will show that you’re progressing even if just a little bit at a time.
- Have company values and stick with them. Every company has different values but it’s important to stay the course and be true to your vision. Don’t change it every time there’s a new trend on the market. Stick to your guns and believe in your business.
- Keep your goal simple. There’s no need to overcomplicate things and give your employees and ambiguous message. Make sure your goal is simple, clear, and easy to understand. This makes it easy for everyone in your company to understand what you’re aiming for, and it also sets you on a clear path to success.
- Share your vision with others. It’s extremely important that you don’t just keep your vision in your head. Sure, it might be hard to explain it, but it’s important to get better at sharing your vision by actually talking about it. Your friends and family members might not “get” what your vision is, but the more you talk about it, the clearer it will become and the easier it will be to share.
Having a clear business vision is a fantastic way to inspire your team and get things done. Keeping track of your goals is also a fantastic way to check your progress over time, but it’s also helpful when it comes to making difficult decisions. In short, don’t underestimate the benefits of having a vivid business vision in your head and being able to share it with the people around you.
Think big and start acting like a serious company with grand goals
It’s extremely important to adopt a serious attitude when it comes to business growth because it shows other companies that you’re the real deal. You need to put on your big business cap and you need to start thinking about how you can establish a solid foundation that is easy to build on. One of the most common reasons why startups fail in the first place is because they’re rushing too far ahead. Instead, it’s beneficial to go slow, build a solid foundation with systems in place that will help your company grow slowly but steadily.
A great example of this is in manufacturing. If you’re going to take production into your own hands then you’re going to need to rely on industrial builders to help you get serious work done. However, you need to build up your relationships and establish strong industry contacts in order to get this far. You can’t just throw a bag of money on the table and tell a business to make something. You need to get to know the company, you need to learn to trust them, and you need to be confident in their abilities.
In other words, take it slow and think of big long-term goals. Don’t just get sucked into short-term profits and chasing trends that will disappear in a year or two. Establish a solid foundation so that you have something to fall back on if one of your ideas fails. This is far better than your business living on the edge all of the time where a single mistake can lead to a catastrophic failure. The slower you go, the more bases you can cover.
Staff Writer; Carl Carter