Where would you like to live? Do you want to be able to travel extensively, and to run your business from wherever you happen to be? Or do you want to reside in a particular location? Technology is enabling people to run “virtual” companies that can be operated from anywhere, so depending on the specific type of business you hope to start, you may have a whole gamut of choices that were previously unavailable to entrepreneurs.
■ Articulate your financial dreams. Finally, there is the very important question of money: you may simply be hoping to get enough to support yourself (and your family) and save sufficiently for retirement. Or you may be more ambitious, and have visions of accumulating real wealth. Whatever your goals, it’s best to articulate them upfront as part of your vision so you can plan your business accordingly.
Your Business Vision
Once you’ve articulated your personal vision, it’s time to consider your business vision. This includes thinking about the type of company you want to build and run at a fairly high level. Some questions to consider:
■ How big a company do you want to build? As you begin to think about your business, keep in mind that the business itself may dictate the size. Some people deliberately keep their business vision small: they want to be sole proprietors and have no interest in employing others or growing a business that requires more than their particular input. Those with professional skills like accounting or business consulting often fall into this category. Big ideas often require big companies to make them come to fruition. It would be difficult to run a furniture manufacturer with mass-market reach with just three employees. A lot of this comes back to control. It’s hard to maintain a high degree of control over a larger company—although some people certainly try.
The Four Aspirations outlined on pages 14–15 provide a good yardstick for determining the size business you will run. If, for instance, you come to realize that your aspiration is to start a Visionary Venture, you’ll be able to eliminate ideas that can only sustain one or two people. If, on the other hand, your aspiration is a company that is a Solo Sustainer, you’ll want to avoid businesses that require you to invest a great deal of money up front.
■ Do you want to work by yourself or with other people? This is a critical question. You may be a self-sufficient type who prefers being in control of every aspect of your business to delegating responsibility or partnering with others. Or you may be gregarious and socially inclined and need others to support you, to bounce ideas off, and to socialize with. Or your business may absolutely require others with complementary skills to make it a success. Your preferences in this regard will determine the type of business you will start.
■ What business values/corporate culture do you want to create? What’s important to you about the nature of the business you build? How will you treat your employees? Interact with your community and the world in general? What code of ethical conduct will you adhere to when doing business? Management style plays into this: you may prefer a buttoned-down, traditional workplace. Or you might want to foster a more fun environment that includes scooters, video games, and even nap rooms. Here is where your commitment to socially responsible behavior comes into play, as does your vision of how you want to be viewed by others in your organization. Do you want to create a role for yourself as a traditional authoritarian boss or nurture a more collaborative, “flat” organizational culture? You can be very specific about the rules and mores of your business: for example, Kinkos for many years had a strict organizational mandate against gossiping. Other organizations are committed to family values, allowing four-day workweeks and guaranteeing that employees can leave at 5 p.m. Your business values represent an important aspect of you business vision.
■ What are your business skills? What are your leadership/management qualities or other personality traits that stand you in good stead pursuing this passion? Do a careful inventory of your business skills at this point, because it will determine whether and how you should bring in other individuals to complement your skills, or what additional education or training you need if you hope to go it alone. Can you motivate others? Can you communicate? Are you willing to learn these skills if you don’t currently possess them? Keep in mind that your inventory of business skills should include not just the ones you have now, but also the ones you’re willing to work on or develop.
worksheet: Your Personal Vision
To help bring your vision into sharper focus, fill out the following worksheet. Don’t be shy about writing down your wilder dreams—that’s often how the most innovative and successful businesses begin!
What’s your passion?
What are your skills/talents in this field?
What’s your education/training?
What’s your experience?
What’s your optimal lifestyle?
Where would you like to live (geographic location)?
What are your financial goals?
worksheet: Your Business Vision
Now it’s time to focus on the vision you have for your business. After filling out the following worksheet, you will have a better idea of what your business goals are and what you need to do to achieve them.
How big a company do you want to build?
Do you want to work by yourself or with other people?
What are your business values? What kind of corporate culture do you want to create?
Which of your leadership/management qualities or other personality traits will stand you in good stead pursuing this passion?
What business skills are you willing to develop to make your venture a success?
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Your Business Opportunities
What exactly is a business? According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the word business “pertains broadly to commercial, financial, and industrial activities.” Although the definition doesn’t mention profit per se, it is generally accepted that making money is one of the key—if not the key—goals of business. Yes, there are non-profit businesses whose objectives are to create a different kind of value altogether. However, the discussion in this book is focused on for-profit businesses, where the desire to make money from an activity—whether that involves making and/or selling a product or performing a service—is an essential component for embarking on an entrepreneurial venture.
What Is a Business Opportunity?
A business opportunity occurs when you see a chance to provide a product, service, or even information to other people. What you provide can be something new. Or it can be a better or cheaper version of an existing product or service, or a more convenient way of delivering an existing product or service. In its most basic form, an opportunity means that something is missing from current market choices, and that circumstances are ripe for taking advantage of that lack.
Frequently, business experience itself leads to insight into opportunities for other businesses. If you’re intimately familiar with the home theater design business due to working in a big-box retailer, for example, you might realize that a certain important component could be better designed.