See right, start right and sell right

"You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start if you want to be great," says author and salesman, Zig Ziglar.

- Steve Reid

This is the third article in a four-part series on how to start your own business.

Today, I am looking at creating a compelling mission, building a strong sales process and benefitting from being fully compliant.

Mission

"The most effective way I know to begin with the end in mind is to develop a personal mission statement or philosophy or creed. It focused on what you want to be (character) and to do (contributions and achievements) and on the values or principles upon which being and doing are based," says motivational author, Stephen Covey

When I processed this saying by Stephen Covey, I created the following mission statement, “Entreprenacity exists to leverage 20 years of experience in the enterprise development arena to strengthen start-ups and scale-ups”.

Inspirational speaker Simon Sinek similarly says we should “start with why”. "People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe."

This is why the maxim is held at many incubators, “Don't start a business only to make money. Start a business to make a difference. (And the money will come).”

So how does your business make a difference? What value are you adding to others?

Another advantage to having a compelling mission statement is that instead of you having to "pick it up", the accurately captured mission picks you up. Does your mission "pick you up"?

Sales

Here are a few nuggets to consider as you build a sustainable business:

• Who is your target audience?