Time to Map Your Business Journey

Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?

The Cheshire Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.

Alice: I don't much care where.

The Cheshire Cat: Then it doesn't much matter which way you go.

Alice: ...So long as I get somewhere.

The Cheshire Cat: Oh, you're sure to do that, if only you walk long enough.

― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

When Enterprise North Canterbury (ENC) talks with business owners to look at how we can help their businesses succeed, it is relatively common to find that they are taking any work that comes their way and not really thinking about what they want to achieve in the long term.

Goals are important. Whether you are throwing off the shackles of employment to set up your own small business (which is common at this time of year) or if you have been running a business for many years, it is well worth taking some time to step back and think about what your goals are.

The key to success in business is knowing what you want. There are two parts to this; your own personal goals, and your vision for your business.

Personal goals might be to create a comfortable lifestyle, to build a business that you can sell, to make money following your passion, to create a legacy, or to become an important part of your local community.

You might have a business vision of providing the best quality goods or service, using innovation to provide a cheaper option, being the best place to work at, growing rapidly into a business empire or any number of objectives you might like to achieve.

Whatever your vision and goals, make them the basis of how your business operates. Having a defined vision and solid goals helps you with every aspect of your business, from pricing your goods to how you market yourself. It gives you a touchpoint for every decision you make.

When an opportunity comes up check it against that touchpoint. Sometimes a great opportunity for one person can be a terrible burden for another. We see many business owners not enjoying their business because they spend all their time grinding through work they don’t really want to do. If they had gone in with a good knowledge of their own personal goals and business vision they may have declined to take on some work which would have given them space for more relevant opportunities when they came up. If you know your vision and goals, you know exactly what work you should be seeking or creating.

Write your vision and goals down, use them in your planning, refer to them when looking at what equipment you need to purchase, consider them when you are employing staff, and measure your business against them with every decision you make. Keep your vision and goals at the centre of your thinking.

What is success in business? That’s up to you. But if you know where you want to go you are much more likely to get there.