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Many entrepreneurs understand how important it is to have a business plan says part-time CFO. However, the better their business plan is. The easier it is going to be to use that plan to help them grow their business. And as Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States of America was famous for saying, if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.
Therefore, one of the most important things that business owners can include in their business plan. That is often overlooked is including their problem, mission and vision statements within it. What these are, are statements that can help ensure that a business owner is staying focused on what they are trying to accomplish in their business.
It starts with the problem statement says part-time CFO. And business owners need to understand that every time a consumer purchases any product no matter what it is. They are solving a problem that they have. Some are very easy to understand. Such as if it customer calls a plumber, perhaps the problem they are solving is a flooded basement.
So by figuring out what problem they are solving when they sell a product or service to their customers they will be able to figure out the mission and vision statements, and how they are going to help those customers and grow their business.
After they have completed their problem statement, part-time CFO says they need to work on a vision and mission statement. Although many entrepreneurs do not understand the difference between the two. The vision statement needs to have a measurable and long-term goal that has a time limit.
Once a business owner has its problem, mission, and vision statement was written. They should run it by their part-time CFO. To ensure that it says what they want it to say and that its impactful spot. But also, so that they can help get it shortened to one sentence each.
It can be very easy to write a complex idea in many words. But very difficult to write that same idea in very few words. Which is why they might need help. But once they have created a one-sentence each problem, mission and vision statement. It can be incredibly powerful.
However, business owners need to understand that once they have created their powerful statements. The worst thing that they could do is simply forget about them. Or not utilize the statements to their best ability. This is why part-time CFO recommends the first thing that entrepreneurs do with the statements is to put them into the executive summary of their business plan.
Many business owners write their executive summary to appeal to bankers in order to obtain financing. Therefore they might be confused as to why their mission and vision statements should go here. Ultimately, it is to ensure that whenever they review their business plan. They are also reminded of these powerful statements. Because they keep the entire business plan focused.
If business owners understood how impactful having a problem, mission, and vision statement in their business was says part-time CFO. Perhaps more business owners would put work into crafting these effective statements themselves.
Ultimately, well-written mission and vision statements can actually help keep the business plan, as well as the business owner themselves, focused on accomplishing their business goals. While the entrepreneurs business and marketing plan have the goals that the business owners accomplishing. The mission and vision statement can help an entrepreneur stay focused on how they are going to do this, and stay inspired as to why.
However in order for the statements to be as effective as possible. Part-time CFO says that business owners need to ensure that they are writing them in such a way to make them very easy to understand. As well as easy for all staff members to memorize.
Ultimately, business owners need to ensure that their problem, mission, and vision statements can be heard and understood by all employees. Including their lowest level employee. Because it is important for all staff members to be able to hear, understand, and act upon these statements.
It is not just important that an entrepreneur’s high-level managers are able to understand the mission and vision statements. But even a part-time staff member working their way through school might be employed there. And needs to be put to hear and understand the mission and vision statements.
Once a business owner has written powerful and simple statements. They need to ensure that they are communicating these statements regularly to all of their employees. Part-time CFO says this means more than just saying it when a hiring new staff member. That the repetition needs to come on a daily basis.
This means it is business owners’ own duty, to ensure that they are communicating this with their staff as often as possible. Every single day if not more than that. Part-time CFO says that many entrepreneurs put it in their email signature, make posters of it inputted in every room of their business. And every time they talk to their staff the bring it up.
They are going to have to communicate their problem, mission, and vision statement to their employees as often as possible. And more often than they think they need to. Which is why a business owner also needs to be reminding themselves of it. So that they can make sure that knowing the problem, mission, and vision statements are second nature to themselves. And to their staff.
This way, if an employee has a problem that needs solving, and the business owner is not there to have them the answer. They should be able to think about the problem, mission, and vision statement. And act accordingly. And maybe they do not have the exact right answer. But as long as they are ensuring that they are acting within the mission and vision statements. They are at least going to be helping the business accomplish its goals.
