A DREAM ISN’T ALWAYS A PLAN – part Four

business design

Sixth lesson learned: In business, just because it seems (and even looks) like a great idea doesn’t mean it is.

I thought I was aggressively growing my business, but subconsciously, I was piecing together my dream office. As awesome as it was once the dream became real, the office was without the necessary foundation to support itself for the long haul.

That’s why it’s so important to first create a detailed business plan and then a foundation strong enough to support that plan— and stay true to it. Sure, I was able to

bring my dream into reality, but I did so at a much larger cost than was necessary.

When you sit down and examine your business idea or plan, there are a few key questions you need to ask.

 

·           What are the underlying features needed for the success of the business?

·           What are the core components needed for creating a solid foundation?

·           What is the overall objective of the business?

Did I sit down and ask myself these questions in regard to my businesses? Did I closely analyze all that would go into growing each business? How much it would cost each one to run every month? The types of employees would I need to hire? The types of contracts I would need to acquire the businesses? Where the best locations for those types of businesses were? No! Like many aspiring entrepreneurs, I had a dream, saw what appeared to be great opportunities present themselves right in front of me, and ran full-speed ahead, never once looking back, or even sideways, for that matter.

And there I stood, in my dream office, thinking about how cool it all was. The beginning of my “empire” was about to take off. I was the proud owner of a limousine company with a fleet of seven cars, three of which were brand new limousines. I had the newest real estate office on the block! Well, the only real estate office on the block, or in the neighborhood, in fact...which should have been a clue. And yes, my very own chauffeur school.

Now, let me repaint the picture for you. Because I leased an office in an office park according to my dream office standards, I didn’t take into consideration that I couldn’t park the limousines there overnight. I still had to house the company out of my home. I was still doing about 40% of the limousine runs myself, washing and detailing the limousines myself, and was working around sixty hours a week.

I didn’t have a broker who could watch over the real estate office or train and recruit new agents...which meant I had to. I also didn’t have any experienced agents with great track records. So, I had to somehow find our clients—starting with the first one. That was a challenge when I wasn’t in the real estate business full-time. Oh, and I had bought a school, but had no way to pay copyright fees on its curriculum because I hadn't asked for a purchasing contract. And, you guessed it: I was also the marketing person, receptionist, course creator, and head instructor for said school. Oh, and let’s not forget that I was also the primary caregiver for a four-year-old and two-year-old twins. Terrible twos, you say? I wouldn’t know. I was too busy to notice.

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