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By Samone Thomas
Many new small businesses are so anxious to attract their first customers. They dive into direct mail campaigns and spend large sums of money to build extravagant websites to showcase their products and services. They are so hooked on investing time and money in all the obvious that they fail to invest in a small foundational strategy such as the vision statement. A vision statement can be easily overlooked because of its perceived insignificance. But without a clear vision statement, there is no clear mission, no clear objectives, and definitely an absence of clear business strategies.
A vision statement answers the question “What do we want to become” or “Where do we see ourselves in the next 5 years?” Do you want to be the world leader in communication products and services or is your vision to be the most recognized and profitable dry cleaning business in Charlotte? Whatever your vision is, for it to be clear, it must be realistic and attainable in the next five years. For example, if you are a new coffee shop opening up in Fayetteville, then your vision should not be that you want to be recognized as the best coffee shop in the United States. Creating a vision statement that is attainable in the near future helps to ensure unanimity of purpose within your business.
Not only should your developed vision statement be realistic and attainable, but it should be a reflection of your personal vision that you have for yourself in the future. Your personal vision should in no way conflict with your company’s vision statement. If your employees’ personal vision conflicts with the vision statement, they should no longer work with your company. A corporate vision statement that reflects you and your employees’ personal vision serves as a focal point for individuals to identify with the company’s purpose and direction and also deters the ones who don’t share the same vision.
Creating a vision statement takes effort and deep thought, but a clear and defined vision helps point you in the area of your future goals. If you are planning to start your own business, creating your company’s vision statement needs to be one of the first things on your agenda. If you have already been in business for a while and your vision is blurred, now would be a good time to sit down with the other owners, partners, and managers to share ideas and clear your vision.
By Samone Thomas
The heart is one of the most important organs in the entire human body. It works as a pump moving blood around in our bodies to nourish every cell. It delivers oxygen to the brain and tissues and all other organs in your body. Without the heart you would not live. The same way that the heart works for your body, bookkeeping works for your business.
Many business owners who do not have an accounting background seem to be plagued by the thought of bookkeeping. They neglect to keep sound financial records, they fail to read over important reports, and they refuse to keep up and record important receipts and paperwork. Before it is all over with, a qualified and experienced individual has to spend hours fixing the mess that was created.
Bookkeeping is extremely important because it tracks your cash flow and provides information on how it can be best allocated to the businesses’ resources. It also provides the owner with a very graphic picture of the amount of stock, cash flow, profit, debtors, and creditors involved in his or her business.
If you do not have accurate financial data, there is no way that you can expect an investor to invest in your business or a bank to lend you any money. If you cannot provide accurate accounting for your income and supporting documentation, there is no way to know how much you really owe to the IRS. Without proper bookkeeping, you as an owner would not be aware of how profitable your current business activities are, what your sales pattern is, and who your biggest customers are.
Without proper bookkeeping, your business will not live survive long. Like the heart, you can increase the health of your bookkeeping by alleviating stress by outsourcing your bookkeeping, working your books out often by having them reviewed consistently, and feeding your books daily with qualified business transactions.
