From: http://www.bizjournals.com/
Are you among the tribe of people who are continually restless and eager for the next hunt, driven to make their visions of the future a reality in the present world — an entrepreneurial personality type?
If you’ve already acted on this realization and ventured out to start a business of your own, there are some important tactics EPTs should be aware of that can help you move forward and find success.
Let’s begin with one of the most vitally important steps in building any great organization: casting a vision. A strong vision can create passionate advocates, both within and outside of your organization.
How to tell your organization’s story
In casting their vision, many entrepreneurs simply repeat their desires or what they’d like to see the company do. But this is ultimately self-serving, and it is not very effective. Instead, you should focus on telling the story of your business in a compelling way.
See, everyone loves a good story, and they want to be a part of one. So take your time getting this right.
EPTs often struggle translating their compelling vision of the future into the day-to-day activities they and their teams accomplish. So the story becomes a strong medium for making that vision a daily reality, and becomes a critical part of successful team building, marketing and audience engagement.
Here are a few considerations when creating, refining or evaluating your company’s story.
Start at the beginning
It seems almost too simple to say, but when you tell your story, start at the beginning: h ow you started in your business, and why.
Your “why” is actually the most important aspect. Think back to what motivated you when you were starting out. Avoid profit or money as primary reasons.
(Side note: On a deeper level, if money is the only reason you started your business, then that’s a problem. It’s hard to build a great team of dedicated people who will walk through fire for you if it’s only to make money. Your financial advisor may like it, but it’s a lousy way to cast a vision. The reality is that while to some degree most of us are driven by financial success, there are other, more emotional factors involved that we are much are more likely to respond to.)
Some people start a business to help others. Some are inspired by their families or their own personal challenges. If it’s not already clear, take some time to identify the emotional reasons for why you started your business. To help my clients gain clarity, I have them answer four questions:
- Who do you want to help?
- How will you help them?
- What is the change you want to make?
- How will you know you are successful?
Address your unique challenge
All good stories have a challenge that the hero (you) must overcome. Steve Jobs initially had the challenge of getting investors to believe in a young and unproven software developer, and later had the challenge of being fired from a company he helped found before returning to resurrect it.
Challenges are compelling because they prove that you and your company are resilient and resourceful.
Addressing challenges also helps humanize the hero for the audience. Heroes are celebrated for taking on difficult tasks and showing bravery in the face of the inevitable hurdles that all of us face at one time or another.
Everyone wants to be a part something bigger than themselves, and your particular version of “Come join us while we slay dragons” will resonate with the right people in a big way.
Celebrate your successes
Your successes, your triumphs, are what will ultimately win over your audiences (employees, customers, partners and the overall market). They are the challenges you overcome, and the reason you are special and needed in this world.
Your audiences will see you win, and they win as well. Your victories are theirs. And each victory is fuel to continue the fight.
And here’s an important thing to remember about your successes: they’re ongoing. The effect of your vision will be diminished if all of your successes are focused on past events. Be sure to lay out a vision for continued success, success in the future, new dragons to slay.
Talking about success like this demonstrates that you’ve achieved competency in your desired goals, and it lets the listener know that you aren’t finished winning. Do this right, and people will want to be a part of your movement.
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