Strategic Questions Aid Entrepreneurs in Creating a Long-term, Sustainable Businesses

Entrepreneurs are by nature risk-taking, creatives and have a sense that the best way to predict the future is to create it! What they do not have a good sense for is that Strategic Planning is a powerful tool to determine the future of their company and what resources will be needed to ensure the success of their creative thinking.

Those who are successful in their endeavors have found that taking the time to develop a strategic plan and fully implement it helps them be far more effective than leaving the future to chance. Rather than becoming overwhelmed by the thought of creating a “master plan”, these successful entrepreneurs tap into the power that comes from knowing where their company wants and needs to go, and how it is going to get there.

The benefits of strategic planning to an Entrepreneur differ somewhat from those experienced by major corporations. One of the greatest benefits is maximizing the return on all that “intellectual capital!” And… that is most easily accomplished by providing a strategic direction, following a sense of purpose and sustaining core values.

The process is not necessarily complex, expensive, or time consuming - nor does it have to be perfect. It just has to be done. The following three questions are designed to shake up your thinking and encourage you to engage in creating a “master plan” to achieve your entrepreneurial dreams. The entire process is broken into three phases - primarily to ensure it remains simple and not overwhelming - increasing the potential that you will complete it. The best thing you can do for yourself and your business is to get a small notebook, grab your favorite beverage and begin this relatively simple process. Drawing on Nike’s wise statement, “Just do it!”

What Makes You Unique?

The primary result of completing a strategic plan is to discover what your company can potentially do better than others in your industry. Through this simple discovery you will understand your competitive advantage - what you do better or differently that causes customers to buy from you. With that understanding, you can then make deliberate choices to focus your energies on the activities that result in lower marketing costs and increased productivity and revenue generation. So… what does make you unique?

What is Your Purpose?

Another area that entrepreneurs fail to give adequate quality time to is creating a mission statement, which is simply a proclamation of your business purpose. Buying into another false belief of the amount of time it takes to craft one, or lacking confidence about it being perfect - by failing to strategically plan your business growth, you lose the power of putting the spotlight on the products and services you provide and the customer base you desire to serve. Doing double duty - knowing your purpose serves to guide your day-to-day operations and is the foundation for future decision-making.

Take time to answer three questions, and you will have the foundation for a mission statement that unites your personal values, what you perceive to be your purpose in life, and the product or service you want to provide. Three simple questions; three simple answers.

1. What is your business? This does not have to be some long, drawn out explanation, just a simple statement of how you see your company. · Example: XXX is a Business Strategy Coaching company serving the accelerated growth of courageous Entrepreneurs.
2. What are you trying to accomplish for your customers? Notice the phrase, “accomplish for your customers”… it is not the product or service you provide - it is the results your customers will experience! · Example: XXX assists entrepreneurs with deciding on a particular goal and strategically planning how to most quickly achieve it, accelerating their growth and maximizing their profits.
3. What is your company’s reason for existing? Why do you feel compelled to do what you do - and the customer for whom you do it? · Example:XXX believes passionately in the power of strategically creating a “master plan” for accelerating success, and the fact that worthy entrepreneurs fail to tap into the power the process provides because it seems complex and overwhelming.

What is Your Big Dream?

Since entrepreneurs are by nature capable of dreaming big, this native skill just needs to be harnessed … to create a “strategic vision” of the company’s future. Again, the process involves thinking future-forward to find clarity in the following areas:

1. What is the direction you want to take your company?
2. Who do you want to serve, and what business activities will be driven by that decision?
3. What do you want to be best known for?
4. What will your business look like 5-10 years from now?

This concludes the first phase of creating a Strategic Plan, designed expressly for Entrepreneurs. It should serve to allow a shift in your thinking … about the process of Strategic Planning, and how you view your company and entrepreneurial dreams. Remember, it does not have to be perfect, it just has to be authentic … and in written format. Look for Phases Two and Three so that you may fully complete your Strategic Master Plan.

Anna Weber
4-Dimensional Success
http://www.4-DSuccess.com

Always … encouraging others to engage in positive, life-altering activities that will provide long-term, sustainable benefit.