Clarity

Clarity in your business will make your decisions easier, your deals more  profitable, your staff happier, your family closer, and best of all  it will give you the best gift ever: more time.

• Do you have clarity in your business?
• Do you know what it means to have clarity in your business?
• Do you know how profitable clarity in your business can be?

While clarity is an important concept it is also a very elusive one. These are the big three symptoms you lack clarity in your business:

1. You're Working for Peanuts

Have you looked around your competitors, and wondered "How do these guys do it?" "Their rates are higher than mine, their service isn't as good, they don't care about the customer like I do. Why do they have all the money, and I struggle just to make payroll!?!?" Have you asked yourself that question or similar?

Lack of clarity causes you to undervalue you your own self and business.  When you undervalue your business and talents, so will everyone else!  Lack of clarity on who you are, what your business is, what you bring to the table, and ultimately what you're worth keep you on the hamster wheel working for peanuts.

It’s time to get off the hamster wheel, and get clarity.

2. You Are All Things to All People.

Business that lacks clarity will frequently attempt to be all things to all people. You talk to a customer who needs a website, and while you normally don't do websites, you sign up for the job.  "I could use the extra money" you think yourself. But you'll spend twice the effort on the website you would have spent doing similar work in your area of expertise. "But why would I turn it down?" You ask. “I need the money. It can't be that hard..." you may protest. The simple fact is being a jack of all trades in a master of nothing is bad for business. Instead of having a commanding presence in an area of expertise, you do mediocre work in just about everything. Clients don't give you many referrals. Raving fans are few and far between.

When someone asks you at a cocktail party, "What do you do?” you can't come up with a clear answer because you’re trying to figure out what (of all the things you do) should you tell them so you can get an order.

Sound familiar?

3. Your Business Operates in Scarcity

First let's talk about with scarcity means. Scarcity is when you run the business or make decisions out of fear of loss. Fear governs most of your decisions. Worry consumes you. Perhaps you are unsure where the next dollar will come from. Perhaps you worry your best employees will leave you. You're the first to arrive at work in the last to leave, only to go home and worry all night. So, when it comes time to make decisions, your fears permeate your thoughts, and instead of making good decisions... decisions that makes your staff excited... decisions that will grow your business... you make fearful decisions, which only further hinder your business. This process happens over and over and over, until you worry about opening your email, or even answering the phone.

A scarcity mentality will prevent you from doing more marketing, which really is the answer to fixing the cash flow problem that probably caused the scarcity mentality in the first place. A scarcity mentality will keep your staff on edge, and ultimately lowers productivity, hurting your bottom line. A scarcity mentality makes you give things away you shouldn't, and charge for things that you should not.

Sound familiar?

What is clarity, and where do I get it?

Clarity is uniquely crystallizing what you are in business to do. Clarity is being able to point to one single thing and saying this is it, this is what we do. Bill gates had clarity: a PC on every desk and in every office in the world. Every decision he made while founding and growing Microsoft was to that end. Google has clarity: To collect and organize all the information in the world, and make it searchable.

In the end, clarity is nothing more than knowing what you're here to do. It's not a list of all the things you can do. It is a simple question of what is it that you do? Where do you add value? What legacy will you leave your children or the world when your gone?

When you have clarity, you will be able to operate in abundance. Confidence will flow from you like water from the Nile. Making decision will go from an agonizing mental marathon to a pleasurable crystallization of yes or no. Complicated problems will become simple. Your staff will look forward to coming into work every morning. You won't have to worry about anyone "jumping ship."

When you have clarity, you will be able to cheerfully turn down business, and (believe it or not) twice as much of the "right" business will fall in your lap. Customers will become loyal. You'll get more referrals. When asked "what do you do?" at a cocktail party, you'll finally have an answer.

Best of all, your business will grow, your prices will rise as will customer satisfaction. You'll be able to get off the hamster wheel and into the beach chair, golf cart, or that car you've wanted since high school.

All you need is a pen, paper, and a quiet room to find clarity. Write down everything you've ever wanted. Write down what makes you excited. Write down how you want your community to see you and interact with your company. Then, from there, do the math backwards. Work from those goals backwards to where you are now. Cross off as many distractions from your business and life as possible.

Concentrate on your clarity of vision. Replace people in your organization that don't fit into your new found clarity with people who do.

What's the last step?

Prosper.

Get to know the author on Facebook or Experts Exchange.

This article is a reprint of Clarity from TotalTicketSystem.com. Used with Permission.