Launching A Successful Business
Creating Your Mission and Vision Statements.
Vision and Mission Statements are the ambassadors that represent your business. Because starting your own business is a dream come true, your Statements should be definitive, reflecting your determination to make a difference to become successful. The people who will become your customers, employees, partners or investors should be able to interpret the direction of your business through your Mission and Vision.
It is good practice to brainstorm and develop compelling Statements that will make people want to know more about the business.
Tips to Help You Develop Compelling Mission and Vision Statements.
a) They should get people excited and optimistic about your dream, so that they will have the desire to support you long term.
b) They should guide people and give them a clear understanding of where you going and where they are headed as a customer, an employee or an investor customer.
c) They should give people a sense of direction, indicating your aims and objectives, thus giving them a reason to support you in whatever capacity.
d) They should be inspirational, indicating your determination to be a positive change agent in the world of entrepreneurship.
Develop The Mindset Of A Business Owner
Before you do anything, develop the mindset of an entrepreneur or a business owner. A business owner knows that there a risks and liabilities of running a business. He should have a mental toughness to endure when things don’t turn out the way they planned or expected.
Consider which of these four mindset you are.
A Visionary mindset contains a blend of the other mindsets below. What makes him different is his ability to see what others can't see. He sees possibilities where others see impossibilities. His determination to be persistent even if it doesn’t make sense to others is what drives him. What others see as failures, a visionary sees as opportunities and keep moving forward.
A Strategist loves to have a road map. He believes that having a road map is the only way to get to where he wants to be, and may resist a visionary thinking. He doesn’t mind taking risks as long as he knows the direction he is heading. Even if he has a few bumps along the way with his strategy, he will revise. modify or tweak it and keep going because he believes the direction he is heading will eventually get him to his destination.
A Pessimist sees negativity in everything. He quickly dismisses an idea and convince himself that it wouldn’t work. He is quick to point out the cons even with the brightest idea and may resist developing the mentality of a visionary. He sees potential problems along the way and may quickly rule out a good opportunity. Pessimists usually end up in regret because it is only later in life do they realize that they missed a lot of opportunities.
A Pragmatist likes playing it safe. He is not a risk-taker and prefer practical and proven methods to accomplish a task. Because of their mindset, they too may resist the visionary mentality. They’ll rather have the authentication of a proven method that will help them in their path to achieving their aim. Once convinced that their strategy will work, they will keep trying that one size fits all approach even if failure is starring at them in the face. They are too afraid to take risks.
Knowing or understanding your mindset can aid you in training your mind to prepare for situation that may be outside your comfort zone. By being aware of your mindset, you can rid yourself of potential pitfalls and accept situation beyond your comfort level. As an entrepreneur, that can help others to see you as a visionary, a risk-taker and a winner.
3) Know The Difference Between A Mission and A Mission Statement.
Although Mission and Vision Statement both send a strong message about your cause, there are some fundamental differences that should be noted. Usually, people classify them as the same. Even though there may be some similarities , they are not the same.
Here’s How They’re Different.
Your Vision Statement points to where your business is headed. It is that big idea that you most likely have had for years. You don’t know how you're going to bring it into fruition but it’s been in your head reminding you of your aim to one day become a successful business owner. It’s the difference between saying that you’re going to “Open the best restaurant," versus “Not knowing how you are going to do it.” The vision of you opening a restaurant is there. But how you're going to do it or how you're going to get the capital and resources is still hanging in the air. You don't how you're going to do it yet.
Your Mission Statement clarifies the day to day tasks that you do to keep your business moving forward until you accomplish your ultimate mission. A mission statement describes what your business hopes to accomplish. The steps you're taking to get there is what people are going to be looking at.
For example, a restaurant owner’s mission Statement can be:
“Delivering Quality Meal At Affordable Prices.”
Your customers will be evaluating the quality of your meals versus the price to see if your mission Statement is exactly in line with what you're doing.
Now that we have dealt with the fundamentals that can transform your business dream into a reality, let’s talk about the other pieces of the puzzle that will complete the image - Strategies for a thriving business.
3 Essential Strategies for Launching and Running a Successful Business
Getting a business up and running is no small task. Many hopeful entrepreneurs dive in head first and ruin their 
chances of success right from the start, simply because they failed to learn a few essential business skills. The good news is that, you don't have to share their fate. Let's take a moment to go over the five most important strategies for launching and running a successful business. If you want to learn business strategies to grow your business, this is the place to start.
1) Marketing is The Driving Force of a Business
One of the biggest mistakes that new entrepreneurs make is that, they think having a superior product or service will allow them to get an edge in their market. This is far from the truth. It isn't the best product or service that will make the most money, but the ones that are marketed the best.
Take a look at McDonald's. Their products are arguably pretty mediocre, and yet they have been the king of fast food burgers for decades. This is because of their aggressive marketing campaigns have made them a household name around the world. What we can learn from this is that, building a strong business starts with marketing.
2) Don't Underestimate the Power of Branding
Speaking of McDonald's, let's talk about something else they excel at - Branding. Something that many small business courses teach is that people do business with companies they like, know and trust. And they aren't wrong. One of the best strategies for business success is placing a strong emphasis on branding.
Traditionally, branding has been done through TV commercials, and to a lesser extent, radio ads. These days however, social media has made it incredibly easy to connect with your customers, and turn them into loyal fans of your business. This of course leads to repeat business and word-of-mouth marketing that you don't even have to pay for. Strong branding is definitely one of the most powerful strategies for building a strong business.
3) Knowing When to Sell And When Not To
Since we're on the topic of social media, something that you should be aware of is when to sell and when not to. If you've undergone entrepreneurial training, you probably know that revenue generation is the lifeblood of your business. However, focusing too strongly on making sales/acquiring new clients, etc. can actually derail your business and decrease your profits.
One of the most difficult business skills to learn which is also one of the most important, is knowing when to sell and when not to. For example, social media marketing is for branding, not selling. Use platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to connect with potential customers, and turn them into fans of your business. In actual fact, you are soft selling and not pressuring them to buy. These days, people will support you if you soft sell first, before pushing your product in their face. In other words, give them more information, show them how it will benefit them, etc, before selling.
Conclusion
All the small business courses and entrepreneurial training in the world can't replace these three basic strategies for business success. Take time to really learn business strategies like these and consider how they can be implemented in your business. Used correctly the will help increase your revenue and rapidly grow your business.
For more entrepreneurial insights, watch this video and learn how to take your idea and your vision and turn them into a thriving and prosperous business venture. Your subscription includes access to worksheets for creating your vision and mission statements as well as the business plan writer tool for writing and printing your business plan and presentation deck.
