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The Things Every New Business Needs To Succeed

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |New Business|The Things Every New Business Needs To SucceedThere are a lot of things that every new business needs to succeed. Having a plan, understanding your market, and building a brand identity are a few examples. Creating a plan for your business is one of the most important things you can do to ensure success. If you want to start your own business, it’s not enough just to have an idea anymore – now you need to know where to start and what steps need to be taken in order for it to succeed.

Every entrepreneur starts off with a dream and a passion for what they want to do. However, a lot of people fail to turn their dreams into a reality. So it really does help to have a bit of an idea of what you need to do in order to get to where you want to be.

What Makes a Successful Business?

The things that make a business a success can vary. For some, it will be their marketing strategy, for others it will be their product idea. But, it’s safe to say that there will be some unity in most cases. And so, if you like the idea of starting out right, it’s a good idea to follow a few set steps.

Getting to Know Your Business Goals

Business goals are essential for any company to succeed in the long run. The goal of a business is not to make a lot of money or be famous – it’s to make a profit and provide its customers with what they need.

It is important for a business owner to know their business goals and how to measure them in order for them to improve their company’s performance. This is an effective way that you can understand your business objectives.

In order for them to understand their business goals, you should identify your organization’s vision, mission, and values. It is also important that you set up clear limits on what you want from your company in order to determine how successful it can be.

Developing Your Company’s Mission Statement & Values

Companies need to have a clear mission and vision to guide them while they’re growing. This can be done by creating a mission statement and values that will foster the company’s culture, ideals, and beliefs.

Essentially, a mission statement defines what you do and why you do it for your customers. It should be concise, but focused on what inspires you to wake up in the morning and work hard.

A company’s values should also guide its decision making process, so knowing what your company stands for will help all of your employees work together towards a common goal. That’s why we recommend having clear intentions with your values so that everyone knows where they stand at any given moment.

Identifying Your Target Audience and Reaching Your Customers

Next, you need to make sure that you know who your audience is. While the target audience is an important step in any marketing strategy, it is not always easy to identify who they are and how best to reach them.

The first step for identifying your target audience is understanding what your business does and who its customers are. If you know this, then it will be easier for you to figure out who your ideal customer is. You can then create profiles on who they are and work out a strategy to target them.

Creating a Successful Marketing Strategy that Gets Results

Now you need to work out how you’re going to target your audience by marketing to them. A successful marketing strategy depends on three things: where you want to go, what you sell and how you sell it.

This starts with your company’s core offer and understanding what makes a product or service stand out from its competitors. This will help you create a marketable message. You then need to choose the platforms you’ll deliver this on too.

In order to make sure that your marketing strategy is successful, you need to make sure that it aligns with your company’s goals. Your business will be able to grow as a result of the strategy as well as the product or service itself.

How to Create an Online Presence with Social Media

Right now, having some kind of presence on social media is always going to be a great idea. But if you want to create your online presence with social media, the first thing you need to do is build up your following.

This means that you need to know how to create content that will engage your target audience on your chosen platform. You need to interact with them and get them to engage with your content or move to your site. You could even look to do paid campaigns or work with influencers to make this happen.

Working With Experts That Can Add Value to Your Business

But then also, it’s important to recognize the value in working with experts and professionals in your business. It’s important to get the right expertise for your business and the best way to do that is by finding people who can add value to your business.

To do this, you need to identify who and what you need. Do you need an accountant or financial specialist? Or maybe you need complete on-site & in house welding services for your product? It might even be a great idea to hire a business expert or consult to help you grow and reach your goals too.

Having Determination To Succeed and A Vision of What Success Looks Like

It is easy to be determined when your vision is clear and you have the drive to achieve success. You will know that you are on the right path when things get tough and you don’t stop.

It’s not always easy to see success because we can’t predict how different things will turn out in the future. But we do know what it takes to succeed. It’s taking action and working hard every day, no matter how much it seems like nobody wants or likes what we do.

4 Principles Guiding My Company’s Mission to Make Fresh Organic Meals Accessible for Everyone

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StrategyDriven Strategic Planning Article | 4 Principles Guiding My Company’s Mission to Make Fresh Organic Meals Accessible for EveryoneA healthy diet doesn’t need to be expensive and taste bland.

Since I launched Fresh n’ Lean in 2010, I’ve been committed to breaking those stereotypes while getting affordable, pre-made organic meals to as many people as possible.

Those who need healthy meals the most, whether for medical issues or convenience, are too often left with heavily processed and unhealthy food choices. More than 50 million Americans live in food deserts, areas without access to high-quality or affordable fresh food, according to USDA research. But better knowledge about healthy eating has sparked national discourse about what we put into our bodies, and evolving consumer habits are making people less beholden to insufficient local food options.

Four principles have helped me lead my company forward: family, discipline, humility and vision.

My mission began with family in mind.

My father was facing life-threatening health issues — we didn’t know if he would be around in six months or a year. He made drastic changes to his diet and lifestyle, and his health rebounded. Seeing his success was proof that it could work for others, and that there was a greater need for fresh, healthy food options.

Discipline fueled the company’s growth.

I started Fresh n’ Lean when I was 18 years old. While my friends were out partying, I was waking up at 4 a.m. and working 16, 17, 18 hours a day, seven days a week.

That discipline carried over to the company’s financial wellbeing, where we sustained steady growth without relying on outside capital. We’ve always run a pretty lean operation, in part because we didn’t have a lot of excess funds to fuel unrestrained expansion. We had to be thoughtful in how to approach growth opportunities, because one mistake or one wrong decision could derail the whole company.

A dream since Day 1 was building our own kitchen and manufacturing area, a custom space to fit our needs. It wasn’t feasible during our early years, but in time it became a necessity. I never dealt with such a big construction project before, and it was a huge learning experience — I worked with contractors, city officials and architects throughout the permit process. There were setbacks, but we had to keep powering forward. Failure wasn’t an option.

Humility means respect for everyone’s role and impact.

I’ve worked every job the employees work, so I understand where they’re coming from and recognize the obstacles they face. I used to wash dishes and pack boxes. I’d go into the warehouse and pack boxes tomorrow if needed. We’re each a piece in a puzzle that fit together to reveal the mission and character of this company.

My vision for the future

As horrible and disappointing as it is that millions of people don’t have regular access to healthy food, I’m encouraged that our society is paying more attention to what we eat and that the rise of direct-to-consumer shipping provides additional options for people living in food deserts.

Ultimately, we want everyone in the United States to have access to a fresh organic meal within five miles of where they are. While direct-to-consumer is a big part of our business, we’re also looking to increase our offerings in grocery and retail on-the-go stores and getting our vending machines a wider release. We’ve targeted corporate wellness programs with the vending machines, but we plan to take a more mainstream approach in the coming years.

Convenience is a key to continued growth. A healthy diet doesn’t need to be expensive and taste bland — and it should be within reach no matter where you live.

About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Laureen AsseoLaureen Asseo is only 27-years-old, yet she has become a pioneer in leading the nation’s organic food craze. She’s the CEO and founder of LA-based Fresh n’ Lean, the largest nationwide organic meal delivery service in the country. It’s her mission to make eating organic easy, affordable and accessible – reclaiming the phrase “fast food”. She was inspired by her father’s ailing health due to his eating habits, and started the company from her one bedroom apartment.

Strategic Planning Best Practice 1 – Make the Mission Measurable

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StrategyDriven Strategic Planning Best PracticeAn organization’s mission statement defines its purpose, its reason for being. These statements, however, tend to be broad and somewhat vague; making it difficult to identify the specific products, services, initiatives, and people that will most directly enable the organization to achieve its purpose.

Making the mission measurable provides the added clarity needed to focus decisions and drive actions toward achievement of the organization’s purpose. The mission is translated into a time-bound measure of performance rather than a specific goal. The value of competing alternatives can then be evaluated against the measure; offering executives and managers a mission contribution basis for the selection and pursuit of specific business opportunities.

About the Author

Nathan Ives, StrategyDriven Principal is a StrategyDriven Principal and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.