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So you\'re in business! You have a product or a service and you have some customers who are willing to buy them from you. But, what does your business really stand for and what do you want it to become?

Know your goal

Successful businesses are built on the premise that you know what you are trying to achieve at the very start. It\'s fine to have a great product or service, but you also need to know how the business is going to fulfil your customers\' needs and how you are going to go about delivering the promise you make when you open up for business each day.

When you first started your business did you have a clear plan of what you wanted your business to become? I know you wanted it to be successful, but that\'s not enough. What was the vision you had for your business in five, or even ten year\'s time? Unless you have a clear picture of where you want your business to go, how will you ever know when you have arrived?

Define the details

In E-Myth language we call this picture of what your business will become - your Strategic Objective. What we mean by that is a clear and concise written statement of what your business will be like and how it will act at a time in the future - say 5 years. It will describe how big it will be, where it will be, who its customers will be and how they will buy, the basis on which it will compete, and what will distinguish your business from all other businesses. It will describe the experience that your customers, employees, suppliers, in fact everybody will have when they are exposed to your business. You will have established some goals to aim for.

Imagine the joy you will then experience once you have achieved them, the joy of having built a business that makes a real difference in the world.