Mission vs. Vision: Have you created your vision?

by Michelle Hill-Smith
www.OnTaskAssistants.com

Good Morning, Great Morning! TODAY IS FAMOUS FRIDAY and I'm excited about new things for my business today in preparation for the upcoming week. New clients, new structures and programs, new equipment and new vision! It took me 3 years to learn that if we are unable to move forward with our visions for our businesses, we remain stuck. If we can't remain excited about our business, then it's possible that the mission has been deterred.

Phase two of this trauma is that we become afraid of change which makes it more difficult to earn more and grow. Many people are afraid of the unknown which literally drives them to failure.

I dare you to get excited again! Refresh your organization. Recharge your mind and heart, start building a success team and MOVE FORWARD TOWARDS SUCCESS!

So, here's the punchline: If you have a mission statement for your business without a vision statement, it shows that the direction and growth of your business has not yet been developed or completely thought out. They are created to clearly and concisely convey the direction of your business.

Your vision needs to include your business' embrace of the advancement of technology in the 21st century, the rise of social media and your adaptation to working virtually for the betterment of the earth and productivity of your business. 

For example, the vision at our company (in short) is to simply support clients on a national level and become the number one, highly preferred company (a household name) to provide operational support and consultation to entrepreneurs and businesses on every level. Phase two of our vision is to be able to provide a strong work-from-home platform as well as nationwide locations that will allow people to provide their skills and talents in assisting other businesses with their operations, growth and success.

Think of it this way: Your vision statement is for the future. Your mission statement is for the "now" and helps to define your company's purpose and primary objectives. Your vision statement also defines the purpose, but the purpose is now outlining the future of your company. Ask yourself where do you want to see it in 5, 10, 50 years down the line.

Here is a really cool article I found to help you in preparing both: HERE

It's really important to be able to go back and revisit these components for your business every now and then. They allow you to determine if you're following your master plan. It's your blueprint to guide you in following through and accomplishing what you set for the vision of your company.

Become a Smarter Business in 2012!

by Michelle Hill-Smith
www.OnTaskAssistants.com


As a small business owner in a failing economy, eliminating unnecessary expenses in overhead and operations is one of the sure ways to keep your business afloat. Making this decision is critical to your success. Revamping your business to fit the “Go Virtual” business model should be the first step taken in operating your “Smarter Business.”  Choosing this type of model doesn’t have to mean a major re-writing of your business plan or taking out a small business loan.

This is actually fairly easy and simply requires that you retire the ice-age methods for production and implement 21st Century communication technologies.

Times have definitely changed and all for more productivity, simplicity and a better ozone layer.  Today, many small business owners are able to run a full operation from the comfort of their own homes cutting overhead expenses by nearly 60%.  With major cutbacks in space, leasing fees, property taxes, signage, hardware and furniture, unproductive staff, and utilities, not only are you spending thousands of dollars on the machinery, software, office space and more, the cost of managing other bodies and their needs is quite costly as well.

For this very reason, working with what is known as a Virtual Assistant or Business Support Specialist is one of the smarter ways to do business. However, working with any ole' VA just won't do. Ensure that you check out their expertise, the credentials and most importantly, their compatibility and ability to work with you and provide ALL of your business needs. Find out how they're operating their own business. What systems are they using, if any at all. An additional observation needs to be on the professionalism, organization and reputation of their company. Not only is working with a proficient and passionate individual or team crucial for your own productivity, but it’s also a smart starting point to establishing  better systems for your business.

The benefits of working with a virtual team are endless. From helping you run your office, keeping track of customers, freeing you to gain more productivity to build revenue and much more, a strong team can be the difference between success and failure.  In many cases, your virtual assistant or team will be more proficient than you at certain tasks, and will be able to complete them with greater accuracy and in less time than if you did them yourself.  Because as business owners, we tend to where many hats, even those that are not our type or color, we become severely overwhelmed, confused and unproductive. This costs us tons of time, money and ultimately customers.

Solve this problem by learning to delegate some of your time-consuming projects and activities. If you’re worried about training your new Virtual Assistant or Team to do what you need, keep in mind that they specialize in office management, social media, creative design and many other areas in small business marketing, productivity and operations. Your colleagues are already making strides towards modernized productivity which is to Go-Virtual. Do some research and learn how you to can eliminate issues with time management, high cost of doing business and become a Smarter Business in 2012!

Become the Icing on the Cake

by Michelle Hill-Smith
of www.OnTaskAssistants.com

Formulating a business endeavor that will without a doubt service your potential customer's need is like finding a dog that can undoubtedly replace your dog that you considered a family member for many years. It's a pretty tough task where you'll never get it just right. However, you can get it close enough with room to make it better with time.

You see, a consumer to your business is like icing to cake, it's something that's necessary. Even though you can create a cake without icing, you run the risk of everyone not liking your cake thus ending up with only a few slices eaten. In the end, you'll be wasting more time trying to convince everyone to eat the cake without icing just off of simple tactics alone. When someone's used to having something a certain way, it's takes too much time to get them to do otherwise. On the other hand, if you have an idea to create a cake with icing however, not covering the entire cake, you may have a better chance with convincing the customer to eat the cake. Sounds easy? Well, it's not that simple.

Many businesses, especially when starting out, forget to serve the customer. It's great to have ideas however, when your ideas are running wild and are implemented without the consumer's need in mind, you've failed and wasted a ton of time.  BECOME THE ICING ON THE CAKE! Keep in mind that as an effective business owner, you not only have to think like the customer, you must become the customer.

Ask yourself, if I were looking for this type of product (or service) what would I want it to do for me? As a sales person, you must learn how to sale the benefits of the product and not just the product itself.
Remember, a consumer can't use the branding, cost or packaging of your product or service. They are interested in knowing what the product or service will do for them.

So the next time you go to sell that cake without the icing, try examining your cake first and jot down all the reasons why they'll benefit from eating the cake without all the sugary icing. Be honest, authentic and genuine in your approach and you may be able to find a new market for your cake without icing.

Enhance Your Business Today!

Attention all business owners, in my recent research for presentable firms, I've noticed a continual pattern. Many of us aren't looking up to par. I don't want to offend anyone as we all have our niche and expertise, however, some firms are just very "amateur looking" ...not presentable. In our web presence it shows when we do things that are out of our expertise. The creative streak isn't shining. The worst part is that when you run across these same sites 6-months to a year later, THEY STILL LOOK THE SAME! We are afraid to ask for help.

It's Okay! There's help! When it comes to branding a business there's a time when one must take the back seat and ask someone else to stear. I did! It changed many things for me...most importantly gave me mounds of confidence when presenting my business to others. OnTask Assistants are pros in this area. We are constantly reaching out to fellow business professionals in this area.

Through our Creative Design services you have access to fresh and innovative logos, flyers, business forms and much more at extremely discounted prices. You may wonder why we do this. Well, we do a lot of referring of clients and if your firm isn't "presentable" we will "refuse to refer." We get a lot of clients...it's that simple. We scour the net for firms that are confident-looking, professional-looking, and knowledgeable-looking. Of course, you don't have to depend on our business to find you and refer you but it's a pretty cool thing! From one business owner to another. From a friend to a friend.

OnTask Assistants have an extreme passion for helping other businesses. Like we always say "Your Business is Our Job!"

For more information on Branding and Creative Design Services visit: www.OnTaskAssistants.com or call (321) 746-9932.