The most important resource you have, no matter what stage your business is in, is clarity. It helps you get closer to your goal, one step at a time.
During the 10 I've been working with entrepreneurs who want to accelerate their businesses, I've noticed that the ones who go the fastest are the ones who can get clarity, the ones who decide easier, faster what the next step worth taking is. The 5 tools that can help you get this clarity are the subject of our meeting today.
The 5 tools are:
- Business Model Canvas
- Five Bold Steps
- Entrepreneurship programs
- Strategic learning
- Mentoring.
- All supported and consolidated by a 6th bonus tool that we will talk about at the end.
Business Model Canvas
The Business Model Canvas is probably the most famous one. You may have seen the video of the Startarium video library where we explain what it contains and how it can be used. There is one more thing I want to tell you: take the time to create several business models, especially if you have a team, stick them on a wall and whether you are alone or with your co-founders, ask this important question: which of these business models is more viable and why?
In the end this is a question that makes you think about which of the business models and recipes you've thought about can generate more income, easier or faster and which of them keep your costs lower or more controllable? Compare all these business models and try to learn something from every one of them. The final model may be a mix of several of the models you prepared.
The most important thing, once you can visualize all these business model options, is to ask yourself why you think one is better than the other and to what extent these things you believe are true and how you can verify them. This question will help you realize, especially if you are in the early stages of your business or reinventing it, what you need to check, what you need to test, who you need to talk to and what prototypes or trials you have to do before moving on.
Five Bold Steps
Five Bold Steps is a tool used to build the vision of a business, whether it is a new business that needs to take shape, or an existing business that needs to set new priorities. The work process is simple: whether you are alone or with your team, let out all the ideas and expectations you have for your business in a brainstorming, at first, then group them by categories and themes and then choose the most important 5 themes that you see as relevant for the future of your business. Once you have that, you will be able to define your vision, and of course, the most important 5 steps, the most daring 5 steps that will take your there, more clearly.
Programs for entrepreneurs
There are various entrepreneurship programs available in Romania, so it can be a bit difficult to choose the one that suits you best, especially if you have limited time. What I recommend you do is check one thing, namely, if during the program there is a mechanism that helps you set your priorities for the next period and then monitors you and helps you remember this priority on a daily and weekly basis and see how responsible you have been with respect to it. This mechanism is very important whether you are at the beginning of your journey and you have to find a way to make room for the new business in your life (maybe you have a job, maybe you have a family and all these things pull you away from your priorities), or if you already have a business which is growing and which keeps pulling you towards what is urgent and must be done today, without letting you think about maybe less obvious but excellent opportunities for future growth.
Strategic learning
The fourth tool is strategic learning. But when I say strategic, I mean that it is very important for the events or books you choose to give you more than inspiration, but also concrete information. On the one hand, about the industry of your business, and about business in general, on the other hand. This way you will have a general business culture that will allow you to see new possibilities and new solutions for growing your business, even when you least expect it.
Mentoring
The fifth tool is finding a mentor. Finding a mentor is, if you will, a way to cheat a little. A mentor can help you take a little bit of all the other tools because they already have a general business culture that they can make available to you and can see things that you don't notice. A mentor can hold you accountable, especially if you've agreed to do this together and see each other more often. A mentor can give you feedback and can ask you challenging questions related to your business model, your vision, but also punctually about aspects related to the team, finances and all the things that maybe generate a lack of clarity or difficulties in taking decisions. How do you find a mentor?
Yes, this is a question we get quite often and mentors can be found in entrepreneurial programs, including Startarium, where we have a specially dedicated section where you can request a mentor and, why not, you can find mentors all around you, in the industry you're active in, by approaching someone you feel like you have something to learn from.
It's a simple question, it doesn't hurt to ask, you might be very pleasantly surprised and find support you didn't even expect.
Bonus: action
At the beginning we also promised a sixth bonus tool to help you make better use of all the others. Well, it's all about action. I know action may sound weird. We were talking about needing clarity to be able to act quickly. The truth is that every time you go through all these tools you will discover you will discover even more questions and possibilities, and it is up to you to decide quickly, without putting it off to much, what the next step is.
In fact, all these tools will allow you to make a decision and quickly decide "what to do now" and act. What you will also notice is that every idea, every inspiration, every answer, every solution opens a window of opportunity for you, to do something to move forward, and you have to take advantage of this window of opportunity very quickly, either because the opportunity might disappear, or because you might lose your energy or the belief that it’s the right step.
All entrepreneurs who move fast are the ones who take advantage of this window of opportunity and when they have clarity, even if it's the only thing they can do that day, they take that step and then they can build on the clarity of the days to come on the result of that step, until the vision and the possibility of taking their business forward will become more and more clear, building on what they have already achieved, being decisive and taking action.
Thank you for your attention! Now turn off this video and apply one of the 5 tools I have presented. Thanks and keep up the good work!
