When we were little children in the backseat of a car and were taking vacations to unknown places, whether it be Disneyland, the ocean, the mountains, or to that cabin up in the woods, the little child in the backseat would always ask a question throughout the journey. And that question was, “Are we there yet?” And you’d always lean back and say, “No, not yet, but almost.”
Why do I bring this up? It’s the same in business. The question in business or in your growth of the organization is, “Are we there yet?” The first thing you have to ask yourself is the one thing parents knew when they were driving to that vacation spot. That was they knew exactly where they were going.
Do you know exactly where you’re going with your organization? Do you know how many offices you want? Do you know whether you want to be global, in North America alone, or just local? Do you know how many employees you want? Are you going to franchise it? Are you going to sell it one day? Are you going to turn it over to somebody in your family or somebody within the business of where they going to eventually buy you out? Do you know exactly what your business looks like in a perfect world? Because if you don’t, how can you possibly be on the road of getting to where you’re going if you don’t necessarily know where that is?
Once you get clear on all that, you’ll know exactly when you get there. There’s the next step in that ride. Once you get clear on where you’re going, you have to filter that down to your team so they can get clear on the journey also. During that ride from where you are in your business to where you want to go, there are several things you need to put in place. You need to create the structure and systemization. You need to create the right team and the right culture. You need to put all these things in place to create the synergy to create the business that works for you and eventually, one day you can sell or do whatever your ultimate plans are with it.
On the other side of the equation, are you there yet as an individual? In business, in the entrepreneurial ladder, we all start out as students or employees where we get paid to learn that trade. Then one day we become a business owner, a sole practitioner, and we start our business. From there, we need to grow into the manager as we’re hiring team members and are starting to build that team, so we need to learn the managerial and leadership traits required for this role. When we become a great manager, we then grow into being a business owner, that’s when we have the right people and structure in place that is working the business for us.
Next, when that business becomes synergistic, you become an investor, where you begin to take a portion of your earned money from the business and invest it into other areas, whether it’s real estate, other businesses, or maybe the stock market. From there you grow into the entrepreneur, which hopefully is the goal for us all.
On the business side of things, you are creating all the systems and structures to have in place. On the other side, there’re all different levels of where you need to be. You need to grow into being that manager, grow into being that leader, grow into being that investor, and grow into being that entrepreneur. When you ask yourself, “Are you there yet?” you’re always there at a particular level, however, then there’s another level to grow to in the ultimate destination.
A great coach said something to me years back when I was perplexed in a situation. He said, “Mr. Dill, you’re exactly where you need to be at this time.” If you’re frustrated in where you’re at in your business moving forward, that’s actually good because you’re growing into the person you need to be to go to the next level to take that organization to your ultimate destination. Don’t get frustrated, embrace the growth of the experience.
I’ll leave with this; you’re exactly where you need to be. Get clear on where you want to go, the destination of exactly what it looks like for your organization or business in the end game. Articulate this vision to your team. Do the work, and I guarantee, in time, you’ll get there. Remember; where your focus goes, your energy flows. Let your focus be right, let your energy follow, get clear on your destination, and I’ll see you at the top.
COACH MICHAEL DILL is an Award-Winning, Certified, Business Coach, Speaker, and Trainer. He brings more than 40 years of business and entrepreneurial experience in his leadership, team training, and mentoring practice. Michael’s passion is to both encourage and challenge business owners and entrepreneurs to become their best selves both personally and professionally to obtain all they want in their business and life. Businesscoachmichaeldill.com