Eastside Hot 100 monthly column - Feb 2007

Feb 2007 Eastside Business monthly print issue
www.eastsidebusiness.com

The Eastside Hot 100

Best Practice Number 1: Vision Statements
By Corey Hansen, MScOD

Business ownership can be complex and confusing. Most people think that is true only for new entrepreneurs, but on average, most entrepreneurs start four businesses over 20 years before they build a sustainable and profitable success. What can be done to make a business successful and sustainable the first time? The key is to focus on building business systems that get consistent and profitable results by putting in place proven best practices. The following is the first of 300 best practices featured in Best Practices of High Performance Entrepreneurs.

Best Practice 1 (of 300). The owners have envisioned and written what the business will be like in five years (Vision Statement).

Although Mission Statements are fairly common, Vision Statements are not. A vision statement is not customer-focused but rather owner-focused. Your vision statement should state what you want your business to become for you, the owners of the business. "We are building a business that will help the owners to __________ (fill in this statement)."

A vision statement must incorporate all that’s important to the owners in relation to the business. Long-term values will have significant impact on what’s included in the vision statement. Since this statement is used to evaluate business decisions that affect how the business benefits the owners, it’s essential that it be developed by the owners and their trusted advisors. Every attempt should be made to achieve consensus on the vision statement by all who have an interest in the business and it should be reviewed at least annually to see if it’s working and needs updating. Significant changes in the business environment and personal lives of the owners should also trigger a review.

The following is an example of a vision statement from one of the High Performance Entrepreneur clients: “Our vision is to be the most profitable company in the industry and a fun place to work.” We like this one because it’s easy to understand and it focuses on sustainable profitability.Some businesses also have a vision statement for what the business is becoming for the employees. This is appropriate as long as you do not try to incorporate it into the owners vision statement as well.

In 2006, local small businesses using these best practices grew a total of $30,000,000 or +65%. They also impacted 264 jobs, and raised funding of almost $9,000,000 in new equity investments and loans.The next column will feature Best Practice 2 (of 300). “Owners and managers have written the benefits that customers can expect from the business (Mission Statement).”

The Eastside Hot 100 program is sponsored by EastsideBusiness.com, Viking Bank, City of Bellevue, City of Kirkland, Bellevue Community College, and the Washington Small Business Development Center @BCC.

The Hot 100 are local small businesses that are working to accelerate growth and profit.Corey Hansen is co-author of the Best Practices of High Performance Entrepreneurs, center director of the Washington Small Business Development Center at BCC, and instructor of the Build a Hot 100 Business offered Feb 16th, Mar 23rd, or Apr 19 at BCC. Corey can be reached at chansen@bcc.ctc.edu or 425.564.2888.