Build it and They Will Come?

In this age of “Do what you love and the money will follow,” the challenge is to create a mission that makes sense for what you want to accomplish and gives you the support that you need to accomplish it. The problem is that too often the visionary leaves out the important system and financial aspects required to make a viable, sustainable business. The visionary tends to be idealistic and focused on the outcome of the product or service that’s desired rather than the practical aspects that are needed to support both the visionary and the business. The reason this becomes an issue is that, although the visionary has a very clear idea of what they want to create and they are very excited about the end result of the product or service that they are creating, they tend to be less interested in the business and logistic aspects of the challenge. Of course it’s important that they are excited about the product that they are creating as it gives them the energy to drive the process forward. But it’s equally important to get excited about the organization you are creating to deliver the product or service. Oftentimes the visionary has fantasies that someone will step forward to take care of the business aspects for them.

Although this can happen on occasion the majority of times the visionary is required to also be the creator and marketer of the business as well. Unless you already know who your business and marketing people are, you will quickly find difficulty in implementing your vision. Many visionaries would find this very discouraging and it may prevent them from moving forward with creating their product or service. But another possibility is to embrace a holistic view that includes creating the organization and marketing of the product or service. The same principles that apply to the product or service can also be applied to the creation of the company that delivers the vision. For instance, if you want to create a healing center, you will also want to apply the same values of healing to how you structure your personnel policies, who you hire and the company management style. It will also apply to the products you use and how you set up your space. As a core value it applies to your relationships with vendors and service providers as well. The key is to understand that everything is linked together and taking control of all aspects is an important part of the process. Of course with control comes responsibility, and that is perhaps the hardest thing to embrace. Sometimes it’s a lack of knowledge that people aren’t interested in learning. However, every successful business must be run by people that understand the core concepts and life-cycle of the business. A business or organization is an organic being that you create. To ignore parts of it is to prepare it to fail.

There are many valuable resources available for people that are getting started in the business. The small business administration’s SCORE program is perfect for people starting their business as the executives will ask you very probing and worthwhile questions. One important first step is to make sure that you have defined your personal mission.

Unless you address these issues when creating your business it will be hard to find long-term success. Another important aspect which is perhaps the hardest for someone to understand is that you should start with your exit strategy. The reality is that one day, no matter what, there will come a time when you must exit your business. That’s why it’s important that you start with your exit strategy and work backwards to how you are going to fulfill your vision. As hard as that is to grasp when you’re first starting out, the more clear you can be about your exit strategy the more likely you are to create the business in a way they will work for you. I encourage you to bring your vision into reality as the world absolutely needs everyone to make the biggest contribution possible for the future. The success of future visions comes from people with the imagination to see what doesn’t already exist. If you have the capability please use it to the fullest. That is what makes the world a better place. Kris p.s. As always, your comments and questions are greatly appreciated.

The post Build it and They Will Come? appeared first on Spa Tech Massage School Maine.