Seven Elements of Success
Lael Johnson
SEVEN ELEMENTS OF SUCCESS
by
Lael Johnson
Developing a successful business requires that you consistently plan and implement action in the following areas: idea development, planning, preparation, taking action, evaluating action, revising plans and repeating the process over and over again. Remember that, as a business owner, you are responsible for all aspects of your business.. You are responsible for the aspects you don’t like, the aspects that you do like, and the aspects that you aren’t sure about. For example, I am an ‘idea’ person, so brainstorming is comes fairly easily to me. I am also an organized person, so identifying goals and writing actions also comes easily to me. But when it comes to keeping some types of records, I struggle with procrastination. I also struggle to ask for help when completing projects when I’m learning a new skill. The end result of my inattention, is that I create more work for myself at the end of the fiscal year. I also create more stress for myself when I start projects, and interrupt the creative process, just to learn or review a new skill.
Please join me in exploring these seven elements as they relate to developing a successful business. As you review these elements, be sure to take mental note of the state of these sevent elements in your own businesses.
IDEA DEVELOPMENT: It is your job as a business owner to discover and develop your unique service or retail idea for your target market. How do you do that? Schedule several brainstorming sessions with colleagues and other ‘idea’ people. Examine your your skill sets: clarify your strengths and weaknesses. Examine your deepest interests/concerns.: Ask yourself what unique idea/skill/experience are you ready to share with the world? Are you willing to commit your time and resources to share this same idea with others?
PLANNING: Let’s focus on developing a one-page monthly business plan. It’s important to keep your first business plan simple and concise, so that you can stay focused on establishing your business. Keep in mind that your business plan will change over time. The first plan that you draft will differ greatly from later business plans. First, write a business mission statement. Define the purpose of your business and how it will serve your target market. Second, write seven goals, one for each element, that will help that will build your business. Third, write one or two actions per goal, that will help you meet those business goals.
PREPARATION: Now it’s time to create the vehicle through which you will reach your target market.. Remember to keep your business plan goals in mind. Use your list of goals to help create a product and/or service through which you will reach your target market. Remember to brainstorm ideas, create a list of products/services that will best communicate your message, choose one product to create and start creating that product.
TAKE ACTION: Now it’s time to promote your message to your target market. Create a marketing plan that will help you successfully promote your message. Create a one page monthly marketing plan to guide you through this process. First, identify your target market and the service/product you are promoting. Second, write seven goals, one for each element, that will help you reach your target market. Third, write one or two actions per goal.
EVALUATE ACTIONS: After you have completed your business and marketing goals, step back for a moment and evaluate the results. Which goals were completed? Which goals were incomplete? Which actions were difficult to complete? Which actions were simpler to complete? Which products/services did your customers like? Which products/serviced didn’t your customers like? Which customers came from your target market? Which customers came from different market(s)? What general recommendations did you receive from your customers? What observations did you make from idea development to promotion? Over time, you will develop additional techniques for analyzing and evaluating your business information.
REVISE ACTIONS: After you have reviewed the information collected from your first business and marketing plans, it’s time to create a list of potential revisions based on the seven elements: idea development, planning, preparation, taking action, evaluating actions, revising actions and repeating the process. Write as many changes per element as you gathered from your business information. . This is your master list. After you have created your working list, file the master list for use in later planning sessions. Now, create your working list, choosing one change per element. Complete this list with at least two goals per change,and at least two supporting actions per goal. Integrate this working list into your next monthly business and marketing plans.
REPEAT THE PROCESS: Follow your revised business and marketing plans. Maintain accurate records for use at the end of the next month. Remember, to include personal observations of all parts of your business process. Personal observations often provide context and background that will help in future business planning.
Remember that taking consistent action in these seven areas: idea development, planning, preparation, taking action, evaluating actions, revising plans and repeating the process over and over again, will help you build a successful online business. Whenever you experience business problems, take a look at these areas, to see if one of them is too much attention or not enough attention and revise your plans accordingly.
I hope that this article is helpful to you. Please feel free to comment on it here or at my blog .
Copyright 2008. Lael Johnson. Writer’s Eye Advisory Service. All rights reserved.
Lael Johnson @ July 8, 2008
Lael Johnson