Success requires unending passion, motivation, daily leaps of faith, bravery, a willingness to fail, an epiphany or two, and a clear vision. A clear vision is vital for any success in life, especially in business. Successful companies are ones with exact visions, and those visions can be identified by knowing precise, concise answers to the following three questions:
- What exactly is the product (or the service)?
- Who will buy it (and why)?
- What is unique about the product / service / company and what does it do better than anyone else?
Many start-up tech companies have advisory boards—groups of trustworthy, intelligent people who work with the owners and creators to answer those questions. Once the vision is agreed upon, next comes making goals. Building a successful tech company requires the following five objectives:
- Resolve to learn from mistakes. That follows closely after accepting the unavoidable fact that they will be made!
- An important goal is to learn from other people and companies who are successful. Those who have gone before you have a lot of advice to give!
- Gather important information about the product, the industry, the customers and competitors, but not so much that it actually slows down the execution of the business plan. The goal should be to act, not to just think about acting.
- Invest. Not just money, not just time, but also invest in people. Invest in hard-working employees and in partnerships.
- Make it a goal to find your company’s story. Why was it created? What obstacles had to be overcome? What were the milestone?
Answer the three questions and reach the five goals! Although this is not an exact recipe for success, it is a common formula that successful tech companies follow.
