A Quick Way to Get Some Focus
A manifesto is a public declaration of an organization’s intentions, principles, and direction. Political parties are the most common authors of manifestos. Not many businesses write them, so it’s by no means a requirement. But it can be a great way to find some focus and better direct your efforts as you run your business.There’s no set formula for creating your manifesto. It’s less defined than a mission statement but can still work as a guideline when making crucial business decisions. It can be a simple list of your core values. Charles Massimo, founder and president of CJM Fiscal Management in Garden City, N.Y, works according to his manifesto, “family, trust, loyalty, and discipline.” Or your manifesto can be a personal slogan. The Sloan brothers, founders of StartupNation.com, follow this manifesto: “Work as Freedom. Work as Family. Work as Fulfillment.” Whatever you choose, your manifesto should represent your own business intentions. Here are some things to consider when creating your own manifesto:
List Your Core Values
Without realizing it, your values influence your decisions. Why not lay all your values on the table so you can be more conscious of what’s directing your efforts? Even more important, why not decide which of those values you want to direct your efforts.Sit down and give yourself five minutes to list your values. Your values should each be one or two words that represent a concept that’s important to you. Integrity, responsibility, discipline, family, reliability, hard work, ambition, and faith are all examples of values. Once you have your list, you can narrow them down to those four or five that you want to drive your business forward.
Think about What Excites You
Something excited you enough to start your own business. Reflect back on those things that impassion and motivate you. Again, sit down and list them. Try not to censor or edit yourself as you write. Looking back on your list, you’ll find key words and phrases that might fit well into your manifesto.
Consider How You Want to Fuse Your Business and Personal Lives
When you’re an entrepreneur, sometimes that line between your business life and your personal life blurs. Before you let the momentum of your business dictate its impact on your personal life, take the time to decide what you want that relationship to look like. Once again, sit down and write about it. How much do you want them to intermingle? Many family businesses are run from the living room with everyone pitching in to answer phones, distribute flyers, and sell products. Some feel strongly about keeping them separate, and the priority becomes setting and keeping firm boundaries between the two. Explain how you want them both to ebb and flow together in order to achieve the desired outcome.Once you’ve had the chance to think through some of these ideas, the time comes to actually write your manifesto. Remember that with a manifesto, simplicity is key. It should be no longer than one sentence, and that one sentence should be succinct and direct. And never write your manifesto in stone. You should allow it the flexibility to change and evolve as your business does. Hopefully you can post your manifesto somewhere visible so that you can allow it to direct you as you move forward and grow your business. And the final test? Your manifesto should move and inspire you.
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Knowing what you’re about will definitely help you market your business, and a business manifesto can help get you in the right frame of mind to market your services. But do you find yourself wanting a little help actually promoting your business? It can be difficult to know where to focus your marketing efforts. >Universal Accounting Center can help. Their two-day Universal Practice Builder Workshop is a turn-key marketing solution for small business owners like you. You’ll not only learn 12 proven marketing strategies in just 48 hours, but we guarantee you’ll make $30,000 in annualized billings in just 12 months as a result of your attendance. Don’t wait another day to grow your business. Enroll today!
