Creating your clear Vision

I have been reading the E-Myth lately and have thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a must read book for anyone that wants to operate a successful business. Too often people start businesses because they are good at something. They are good at cooking, baking, construction, etc. They see the owner of the company they work for making all the money and giving them the scraps, so they think that starting their own business is the best way to go. After all, they are hard working and do more than the owner of the company does right now. The big problem, however, is that they have a skill, so they will be the one working in the business, not at building the business.

Take the contractor, for instance. Jim’s Remodeling is Jim and maybe a young laborer and they work everyday on peoples houses. Jim is doing the tile, hanging cabinets, framing walls and managing the job site. Jim is also running out to give estimates, doing the books and picking up materials. He runs the website and is the marketing director. Jim’s business is running him, not the other way around. If Jim isn’t working, money is not coming in. The fear for someone like this is often, who can do the work like I can. I am the best at kitchen installs, bath remodels and addition, so how can I trust someone else? Often times, he also fears hiring someone else because he is only making $80,000/year. If he hires a sales and marketing person, how will he pay him or her? $50,000 plus benefits and other costs to that person will only leave him with $10-$15,000 after all.

So how do we make a business that is a true business that can run with or without us there every day, doing everything? VISION. What is your vision for the business? As the E-Myth discusses if you go into business thinking like a franchise and setting up like a franchise model, then you will be miles ahead. Michael Gerver, the author, does not tell us to start a franchise, but to think like a franchise. Everything you do and how you think should be can someone else run this business without me? Put the systems in place and the people and processes in place in order to succeed as you grow and more importantly, will allow you to grow!

When I started in Real Estate, I would buy a distressed house and do all the work myself, then I would find the tenants and collect the rent, after that I would make repairs and handle all issues. I was the book keeper, assistant, visionary, realtor, contractor, maintenance guy, etc. The good thing for me is that we bought too many houses at one time and I was forced to hire it out. It still took years for me to hire an administrative assistant, contractors, etc and truly systematize the business.

Start with your why when creating your vision. If your why is because you can do it better than your boss, then maybe you should get a new job and become the boss. For a successful business to happen, your vision should be affecting thousands of people in a positive way. Your vision should be about you, but it should also be bigger than you.