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The Entrepreneur Mission Statement
StartUpCoachFL
subscriber Posts: 8
The Entrepreneur's Mission Statement
By
Ken Esrig
There is only one mission statement any entrepreneur needs. The definition of an entrepreneur is "a person who organizes and operates a business, taking on financial risk to do so". The most important focus of the entrepreneur is making money and putting yourself first.
A mission statement defines the primary purpose of an organization. A mission statement should be simple and clearly articulate what the organization is attempting to accomplish. The primary beneficiary of any entrepreneurial venture is in fact the entrepreneur himself.
The entrepreneur's name should be in the very center of the mission statement. Regardless of the business or the desired goal of the entrepreneur, there is only one reason to go into business for yourself and that is to make money. The mission may become confusing for many entrepreneurs who have an idea or product that they want to market. More often than not, the day to day issues and funding become the primary focus rather than the goal of putting dollars in your pocket.
If the definitions of an entrepreneur and a mission statement are valid, than how can the mission be anything that does not clearly state your goal. My mission is: "I want to make money". The way I like to say this is with the very dramatic style of putting my name at the top of the page of my plan with five dollar signs on either side. This puts you in the middle of what I refer to as a "dollar sign sandwich".
When you are first starting your business, there will be many decisions that will have to be made. All business decisions should be made to help you get to the fulfillment of your mission. There is no other mission than serving your needs and making money. The symbolic benefits of writing your name at the top of your plan surrounded by dollar signs reinforces what your true mission is regardless of the business you create.
While speaking at recent business event, I saw how shocked this concept was to many of the business owners in the audience. They were focused on the details of their business rather than then their real goal, making enough money to pay for their lifestyle. As the decisions to invest more money into your venture present themselves, you should not think about the transaction itself but how the transaction will help you make more money.
Advertising for example, is one of those bottomless pits for any business. In most cases, more advertising is better than less so you should be sure about which decisions to make as they all sound great. The opportunity to be seen or promoted in printed material, television or online can benefit your product or service but can it make you money?
Some day, your businesses may be contacted by a magazine which wants to do a story on your company. By the time they are done with you, it will cost you $1,000 in ads. Is it what you need to make money or will it simply cost you more than you will ever get back? Look to the top of your page, whose name do you see? Who will make money on that ad, you or the magazine?
Will the ads you are being sold best promote you or your products? Will the additional exposure really sell more or will it cost you $1,000 for you to have 100 copies of a magazine that you will distribute to friends and family? Tough choices and tough decisions which ultimately are for your personal benefit or ego, not the company bottom line.
Will it strain you to pay for the ad or is it so affordable that you do not mind if it does not yield one sale. I have produced and run television ads that failed to yield a single sale. I have had television shows produced about my company that never really were seen by my targeted audience and ended up costing me money. The list goes on and on to include decisions about yellow page ads, brochures, a radio show I did and sponsorships for just about every event or charity to come along.
Which ones paid off in retrospect are few and far between. All the greatest marketing opportunities cost a great deal of money and only make you money if your product is revolutionary or in high demand. Most advertising programs take years to develop name recognition or what is now referred to as branding. I have spent thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars on branding that I should have saved.
Many efforts can be very successful but make sure that you are the recipient of the financial benefit of your efforts and not just the vendor who sold you the advertising package. Advertising is only one area of your business that will distract you from your true goal, making money. Insurance is another business money pit. Perhaps you can never have enough insurance, but I have had more than enough insurance premiums.
Your mission statement is: $$$$$ your name $$$$$. That is simple and accurately describes what you are in business to accomplish. The tasks and requirements of operating and promoting your business are secondary mission statements. Place yourself in the middle of a dollar sign sandwich. Do not forget what it is that you want and where you want to be, nestled nicely between two slices of dollar signs. The transfer of dollars from someone else to you makes a your company a real business.
Take the dollars from others on the left of your name and move them to your side of the transaction. The flow of money from customers to you is the mission of your venture, the goal or outcome you seek. At MIST Productions, we take your plans and fit them into a mission that works for you and your organization. Keep your mission simple, focused on you and your need to make money and you will never get off course. Focus on tasks or the daily nuisances that you encounter, and you will surely lose your way.
By
Ken Esrig
There is only one mission statement any entrepreneur needs. The definition of an entrepreneur is "a person who organizes and operates a business, taking on financial risk to do so". The most important focus of the entrepreneur is making money and putting yourself first.
A mission statement defines the primary purpose of an organization. A mission statement should be simple and clearly articulate what the organization is attempting to accomplish. The primary beneficiary of any entrepreneurial venture is in fact the entrepreneur himself.
The entrepreneur's name should be in the very center of the mission statement. Regardless of the business or the desired goal of the entrepreneur, there is only one reason to go into business for yourself and that is to make money. The mission may become confusing for many entrepreneurs who have an idea or product that they want to market. More often than not, the day to day issues and funding become the primary focus rather than the goal of putting dollars in your pocket.
If the definitions of an entrepreneur and a mission statement are valid, than how can the mission be anything that does not clearly state your goal. My mission is: "I want to make money". The way I like to say this is with the very dramatic style of putting my name at the top of the page of my plan with five dollar signs on either side. This puts you in the middle of what I refer to as a "dollar sign sandwich".
When you are first starting your business, there will be many decisions that will have to be made. All business decisions should be made to help you get to the fulfillment of your mission. There is no other mission than serving your needs and making money. The symbolic benefits of writing your name at the top of your plan surrounded by dollar signs reinforces what your true mission is regardless of the business you create.
While speaking at recent business event, I saw how shocked this concept was to many of the business owners in the audience. They were focused on the details of their business rather than then their real goal, making enough money to pay for their lifestyle. As the decisions to invest more money into your venture present themselves, you should not think about the transaction itself but how the transaction will help you make more money.
Advertising for example, is one of those bottomless pits for any business. In most cases, more advertising is better than less so you should be sure about which decisions to make as they all sound great. The opportunity to be seen or promoted in printed material, television or online can benefit your product or service but can it make you money?
Some day, your businesses may be contacted by a magazine which wants to do a story on your company. By the time they are done with you, it will cost you $1,000 in ads. Is it what you need to make money or will it simply cost you more than you will ever get back? Look to the top of your page, whose name do you see? Who will make money on that ad, you or the magazine?
Will the ads you are being sold best promote you or your products? Will the additional exposure really sell more or will it cost you $1,000 for you to have 100 copies of a magazine that you will distribute to friends and family? Tough choices and tough decisions which ultimately are for your personal benefit or ego, not the company bottom line.
Will it strain you to pay for the ad or is it so affordable that you do not mind if it does not yield one sale. I have produced and run television ads that failed to yield a single sale. I have had television shows produced about my company that never really were seen by my targeted audience and ended up costing me money. The list goes on and on to include decisions about yellow page ads, brochures, a radio show I did and sponsorships for just about every event or charity to come along.
Which ones paid off in retrospect are few and far between. All the greatest marketing opportunities cost a great deal of money and only make you money if your product is revolutionary or in high demand. Most advertising programs take years to develop name recognition or what is now referred to as branding. I have spent thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars on branding that I should have saved.
Many efforts can be very successful but make sure that you are the recipient of the financial benefit of your efforts and not just the vendor who sold you the advertising package. Advertising is only one area of your business that will distract you from your true goal, making money. Insurance is another business money pit. Perhaps you can never have enough insurance, but I have had more than enough insurance premiums.
Your mission statement is: $$$$$ your name $$$$$. That is simple and accurately describes what you are in business to accomplish. The tasks and requirements of operating and promoting your business are secondary mission statements. Place yourself in the middle of a dollar sign sandwich. Do not forget what it is that you want and where you want to be, nestled nicely between two slices of dollar signs. The transfer of dollars from someone else to you makes a your company a real business.
Take the dollars from others on the left of your name and move them to your side of the transaction. The flow of money from customers to you is the mission of your venture, the goal or outcome you seek. At MIST Productions, we take your plans and fit them into a mission that works for you and your organization. Keep your mission simple, focused on you and your need to make money and you will never get off course. Focus on tasks or the daily nuisances that you encounter, and you will surely lose your way.
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