Are You Driving Your Business Or Is It Driving You?

This past weekend, Jill and I took the kids to the Natural History Museum in Houston. It was one of the last days that they were showing a traveling exhibit about Benjamin Franklin. There was a game you could play (that the kids loved playing with), where you tried to figure out which quotes were from Benjamin Franklin and which ones weren’t.

Anyway, a few of Benjamin Franklin’s quotes really stood out to me. I am going to talk about one of his quotes today and I might talk about some of the other ones in the future.

“Drive thy business or it will drive thee.” – Benjamin Franklin

When I saw that quote, I asked myself the question,

“Am I driving my business or is it driving me?”

Suffice it to say, I wasn’t thrilled with the answer. While I sometimes drive my business, I sometimes let it drive me. I don’t plan on letting that happen anymore. I recommend that you also not let your business drive you.

1. Come up with a vision for your business
Coming up with a vision of your business is a very important step in driving your business.

2. Make a business plan
There are many places online that you can learn about creating a business plan. You need to have a description of your business, do market research, develop a marketing strategy, make business goals, etc.

3. Make an action plan
Make a plan to take action on your business plan. Create a daily/weekly/monthly schedule that lays out what you are going to do to accomplish your goals.

4. Follow the action plan
Pretty simple, but sometimes the hardest thing to do. I have heard it said time and time again, but it bears repeating…

People are LAZY!

That is why those of us who take action and are persistent, have a really high chance of succeeding in business.

If you follow the steps above, you will be driving your business, instead of your business driving you.