I was talking to Peter one of our clients recently and he told me that one of the best thing about his small business is that he is 
happy with his business. He has operated his small business for many years and as I reflected on his statement I realized that so many small business owners across the world cannot make the statement that Peter made.
When we take a step back and look at our life most of us realize how quickly our life is passing before our very eyes. The hours flow into days, the days flow into weeks, the weeks flow into months and the months flow into years. Before we know it our life is all over.
If you find yourself operating a small business that is frustrating, aggravating and disconcerting, unfortunately you were spending you the only lifetime that you have in less than happy situation. For many people their business is a hassle and source of stress in their life. They feel like they are going nowhere fast. On Sunday evening they dread going to work on Monday morning, because they know that they will face the same problems, challenges and undesirable situations that they have faced in the past. They feel that this next week will be the same as every frustrating week before and they have no real hope that the future will be any different than the past.
Therefore, since life is short; it is desirable to operate your small business in such a way that makes you happy. Obviously the objective and goal is to create a small business that makes you happy and you enjoy operating.
So, how do you create a small business will make you happy? First of all, no one can really make you happy. You can choose to be unhappy even in a tropical paradise; so an element in having a business that you enjoy is actually choosing to be happy with your small business, but that will be a topic in a future article.
If each of us had our druthers we would magically just create a business that we would love to operate. However, the last time I checked there was a shortage of magic wands around. Alternatively, following the grass is always greener on the other hill approach; we could choose to operate someone else’s business that we think would make us happy. But that would require us to buy their small business and who knows, the business may not turn out not to be the “walk in the park” that it appears to be from the outside. Furthermore, once the business would be ours we might take a happy business situation and turn it into an unhappy situation. Therefore the next most viable option is to create a business that you “love”.
While there are many, many aspects to creating a small business that is enjoyable to operate, in working with business owners over the past 25 years I have found that there are six the key elements that are present in most situations in which business owners are happy with their small business. I will tackle the first element in this article and remaining elements in future articles. For related small business planning keys for your business see Small Business Planning Steps for Growing Your Business and The Payoffs and Payback of Small Business Planning.
Small business planning involves setting and achieving goals for your business
Many studies have been done which show that the most fulfilled and happy people are ones that set specific goals in their lives. In working with over 1,200 businesses I have seen that setting goals and then achieving those goals is a very, very fulfilling experience. However just having a bunch of goals that are not connected to each other in a cohesive way will lead to a situation in which most people will sooner or later say “Why am I doing this?” and “In the long run does achieving these goals really matter?”
However, if these goals are specific, concrete, detailed, and connected to an overall purpose for your business these goals will guide you into a “Vision” for your business. Your Vision for your business is the “destination” where you want to take your business. It is the end purpose for your business. Having a compelling Vision for your small business and then achieving that Vision is the most important factor in determining your business’ is destiny and your happiness with your business.
Time sequenced goals for your small business become mile markers on your road to having a successful business that is a pleasure to operate. This means that having goals which are tied to your overall Vision for your business and then making progress towards that Vision is the first key element to being happy with your small business.
Therefore, whether you are currently happy with your business and you want to increase your happiness or you were not pleased with your small business, take a step back and ask yourself; do I have a consuming Vision, a destination, a direction of where I want to take my business and have I identified time sequenced goals to ensure that I am on the correct road to Vision? In providing small business planning services I have found that once you have this compelling Vision for your business and you lay out the proper goals to achieve this Vision you will see the enjoyment, satisfaction and happiness with your small business increase.
