Do You Have Business Clarity?

Category: Internal Brand Published on Mar 09 2015

Do you even know what it means to have business clarity? At its very basic level, you have business clarity if you can clearly convey what your business does in 5 words or less.

 

I recently attended a networking event where I asked an entrepreneur named Sam what he does. Five minutes later, I was still trying to figure out what Sam does and who his ideal target market is. Unfortunately, I am unable to provide a valuable referral to Sam because I don’t know what it looks like. This is because Sam does not have business clarity.


I would like to share with you that Sam is an anomaly; that he is the only person that I have had this experience with. Unfortunately, from my networking experience, I believe that about 20-25% of small business owners do not have business clarity.

 

Frequently, these people are new business owners. It’s not uncommon for someone who has recently started their business to be a bit unclear on who they are and what they do. For many, it takes time to grow into this type of business clarity.

 

However, a good 35% of those who are unclear have been in business for 5 years or more. Personally, I always wonder how these people managed to stay in business for so long. I assume that they are either extraordinarily good at what they do, have a huge friends and family network that supports them, or both. Because without business clarity, it is difficult to effectively grow your business.

 

And the lack of growth is not just about being unable to effectively share what you do and for whom. You see business clarity also enables you to focus on those things that will power your growth and avoid those that will consume your time, money, and energy.

 

So how do you get business clarity?

 

I believe that business clarity is achieved by doing 2 simple things:

  1. Identify your brand
  2. Create a strategic plan based on your brand

 

Business clarity starts with identifying your brand. Your brand is made up of your vision, mission, values and operating guidelines. When your brand is documented using simple yet emotion laden words that clearly express what is important in your business, you will be amazed at the amount of business clarity you will achieve. Even with companies who have a good idea of their brand identity, I have seen a huge leap forward in their marketing and sales after writing it down.

 

Identifying their brand empowers small business owners to describe their business in 5 words or less. It also makes it simpler for others to refer business. Most importantly, this type of business clarity makes it possible for ideal clients to quickly and easily identify your company as the best place to buy from. (Oh, and by the way, it will repel those clients who drive you crazy.)

 

To further your business clarity, create a strategic plan. A strategic plan is a business person’s best friend as it documents what it is you most want to create in your business. Unfortunately, it is frequently seen as the enemy. People erroneously believe that it is a huge waste of time or that they will no longer be able to be flexible.

 

Nothing could be further than the truth. In reality, small businesses can create an effective strategic plan in just one day. And a well written strategic plan provides a sense of business clarity that enables you to be able to quickly identify a new opportunity as being ideal for you. In other words, it actually enhances your ability to be flexible, and to feel confident that you are moving towards the business of your dreams.

 

Do you have business clarity? If not, are you ready to create business clarity?