Now that we have established what it means to be in Business and what a Small Business is, let the rubbers hit the road.
Wollup!, Wollup!!,
Before You run at a high speed in the wrong direction, it is also very vital to establish a blueprint for your strategy.
Of what use is a strategy without a goal or destination?
Before we start the “Tech Ninjitsu”, we need to clearly define the goals of your Business.
Like we established in the intro to this series, people are in business for different reasons.
Some Businesses are “For Profit”, some are “Not-for-Profit” Social Enterprises, some “businesses” help people make and acquire mansions in heaven whilst contributing to building Universities they cannot afford to send their children..*this last one is not my real voice o*…DADDY must have frozen it in the FREEZEr….
It is therefore germane that each person sits down ( and be humble)and establish the goals of their Businesses.
This is something You (and your team if You have one) must do by yourselves
I can only help with real life examples to drive the point home.
By business goals, I don’t mean Business Mission and Vision alone, these are part of the goals but there is a goal before the other goals.
Do you have a business at the moment?
If yes, what is your goal with this business?.. How do You measure success?
If You dont have a business and hope to start one soon, You can also use this exercise as a starting point. When You start your business, what will be your goals?
Let us use real life examples..
I run a Technology Business and my goal is to acquire customers that need my Technology services (Web and Mobile Development, IT strategy, eCommerce et al) in such a way that after all is said and done, I make a profit.. was that explanation simple enough? …Let me break it down.. my goal is to have as many customers as possible that will use my Technology services to achieve their own goals and pay me Money such that when I calculate my selling price minus my cost price, it will be a positive value AKA Profit… comprehende?
And this is in direct contrast with one of my elder Sisters who runs Steering for Greatness, a Social Enterprise… Her goal is to ensure that Teens and Young Adults are made future ready through series of trainings, workshops and bootcamps.
In her own case, She is more passionate about seeing kids and teens learn and grow than making Money.. She wants to make Money too but that to her is secondary. You should check her work out.
I just gave 2 examples of seemingly contrasting scenarios, in my own business, I am also very passionate about the solutions I deliver to my clients but I am equally passionate about the credit alerts they deliver to my bank account while in her own case, She is more passionate about the social impact her business is having, the Money is secondary.
What I have tried to explain above is how business goals can vary from business to business.
Some want to acquire LIKES and COMMENTS on Social Media, some want to CONVERT a Free user to a Premium user, some want you to place orders on their website… what is good for the Goose in this case might not always be good for the Gander.
PRACTICALS ANYONE?
I am not a motivational speaker (or writer in this case) that will just come and pour grammar and no action.
I prefer Motivational Actions (or Motivational DOing).
Let us put this to practice in a short exercise..
Get a sheet of paper and a Pen..
Now think about these questions and answer sincerely:
- What is the name of your Business?
- Which products and/or service does your Business offer?
- What is your goal with this Business?
- How do You measure success in the Business.. on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis.
Provide sincere answers to those questions and let us see in the next post.
In the next post, we will be going deeper (like a Deeper Life member goes into his over-sized trousers)..LOL..
We will be talking about one of the most important determining factors of your Business;
The Customer… the king in the North!!! and every other region *in my GOT voice*
See you in the next one.
**the beautiful feature image was provided by http://unsplash.com

I am Seun Ogunmola I help People and Organizations to leverage on Technology to achieve their goals Faster, Easier and Cheaper.
I also write on diverse subject areas including Finance, Business, Productivity and Governance.