Developing a Long-Term Purpose for Your Small Business
Only 25% of small business owners outsource key business activities like marketing, IT, bookkeeping, legal, strategic planning, people development, and customer services. Many small business owners think they cannot afford to hire experts to help them grow their business. They put off hiring a virtual assistant, bookkeeper, lawyers, marketing and IT specialist, or business coach. American Express reports concerns around the time it takes to find and onboard the right help, privacy concerns, fear of losing control, and uncertainty around expense as the primary reasons more small businesses do not outsource key activities. Lack of planning how to leverage outside resources puts 75% of small businesses at a disadvantage because they are not leveraging talent outside their organization.
Hesitation to seek professional help can become a bottleneck in small business growth. Your business has strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The more time your company can spend focused on its strengths, the stronger it can be. One of the best ways for you and your employees to spend more time within your strengths is by outsourcing weaknesses and low-value tasks to vendors and contractors outside your company. Finding the proper support can help you reduce costs and improve business performance. It all starts with developing a plan for expanding the capabilities of your company.
Start planning
Three years ago, a small business owner reached out to Your Path Coaching and Consulting because he was frustrated by the amount of net profit he was generating. When we started working together, he had been in business for 10 years and had run a successful business, but he felt he was working too hard for the money he was earning. At the time, he was managing much of his business on impulse. He occasionally developed long-term plans for his company but struggled to stick to those plans. Problems would arise. He would address them, but in the process, he would lose sight of the long-term goals he was striving to accomplish. His business's strength was in providing outstanding service to his customers. The business's weakness at the time was prioritization and strategic consistency. He knew he could drive profitable growth if he could get help clarifying key objectives and improving personal and team accountability, so he brought us in to help him put processes and systems in place to improve business operations.
Define your purpose
One of the first things small business owners should do is get clear on the purpose of their business. Understanding your business's purpose is essential because time is the scarcest resource. There are many ways to make money, but only a few align with your business's strengths. That is because your business's strengths are a mix of your employees, values, goals, experiences, processes, and ability to work together towards a shared goal. No other business is exactly like yours, and you maximize your business's value and impact when you can identify your business's niche. Declaring your business's purpose will help you attract the right talent, which will better position you to maximize the value you can provide clients. Providing exceptional customer value is the strongest differentiator you can create, and positions you for profitable growth.
Set goals that align with your purpose
The next action a business owner must take is to define their goals and align them with the business's purpose. Your business purpose is aspirational and will change over time as your business's capabilities expand and grow. The University of Massachusetts teaches that taking the time to convert your purpose into goals will
Motivate your employees because they will understand what is important.
Help employees work together because they will better understand what is important to you.
Can improve accountability by giving you a way to measure progress.
Help you quantify success.
Bring more fulfillment to employees by assisting them in seeing how their contribution helps the great organization.
 Failure to set goals can create an environment where your employees are unfocused, misaligned, and unmotivated. Being clear on what you are measuring provides certainty to employees about where they should be focusing their time and the company's money and resources.
Building your current situation analysis (CSA)
Beyond purpose and goals, business owners need to understand the macro and micro environments in which they operate. Crafting a situational analysis means taking the time to understand customer needs, competition, industry trends, environmental factors, current products and services, and your supply chain. All of these factors will influence what types of products and services customers are looking for and their willingness to pay for solutions. Business owners can analyze their current situation by answering these questions.
Consider your competition:Â Â
What products do they sell?
Who are their clients?
How do they market to them?
What are their strengths?
What are their weaknesses?
Consider your customers:
Who are the most loyal?
Who purchases the most services?
How did they find your business?
What needs do they have that your business could serve?
What would cause them to stop purchasing from you?
Consider your business:
By getting this information on paper, you can better understand the business's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This information can inform the development of a strategy focused on capabilities and market opportunities while being mindful of risk and uncertainty. Nothing in business is certain until you take action, so the primary focus of building your current situation analysis is to help you slow down, take in information, think critically, and make informed decisions about how you spend time, money, and resources.
Converting purpose into profits
Circling back to the business owner I mentioned earlier. We followed the abovementioned process to develop a SWOT analysis, Balanced Scorecard, and began using a continuous improvement process to improve business performance. The SWOT allowed us to identify marketing and operational opportunities; the Balance Scorecard helped us to identify goals for improving financial, customer, process, and employee development objectives. The continuous improvement process provided us with a framework for testing new ideas, implementing them, and learning from the experience.Â
As a result of the business planning and our ongoing cadence of meetings, the business owner achieved many of his business goals ahead of schedule. He has grown revenue by 30% over the last 2 years and achieved his 3-year earnings goal a year ahead of schedule. When asked what the most significant benefit the business owner has gained from coaching is, he said, "Keeping me focused on the goals I've set for my company". It is one thing to have a purpose. It is another to bring that purpose to life. Running a business is challenging. Especially when you do not have the proper support. Making time to clarify your business strategy, outsourcing low-value tasks, and seeking experts to help you grow can unlock your business's potential and help you accelerate your business growth.
Your Partner in Business Success
I'm not just a writer; I'm also a father, husband, executive coach, and former retail executive. My 21 years of experience leading operations, sales, and marketing teams have given me firsthand knowledge to position me to help you grow your business.
We offer personalized coaching and consulting services to empower you at every stage of business growth. Our expertise includes:
Executive Coaching:Â Guiding leaders to enhance their leadership skills, communication abilities, and team dynamics.
Business Consulting: Helping organizations optimize strategies, foster growth, and build high-performing teams.
Career Coaching: Assisting individuals in defining a career path and building the skills, network, and competencies needed to maximize their potential.
Our holistic approach combines proven techniques with a deep understanding of your needs and aspirations.
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