I’ve been fortunate to work with entrepreneurs in different environments around the globe. While they share some similarities, each is unique to the individual. Based on my experience, I can say that having long-terms goals or plans for the start-up depends on the entrepreneur, their background, the type of start-up, and the industry.

In the beginning, long-term goals are more like aspirations than anything else because what you must first do is verify and validate the sustainability of the business, and if you have a viable business model — meaning whether or not you can repeat transactions over and over and earn a profit.

Thinking in that manner, it becomes clear that you want to think about short-term runs of aspirations that can then morph to long-term goals. You must first prove the concept of what you have started.

Why did you start this business?

Are starting because:

• You have no choice / just want something of your own

• You are an expert in your field and someone has asked you to

• You are a spin-off from a large corporation

If you start because you have no choice, creating long-term goals may not seem suitable or worthwhile — your primary focus is paying rent and putting food on the table. You may have goals of reaching a specific number of transactions/dollars/customers per day, but you are still trying to figure out if you can get even one.

Start with these two tactical questions:

1. How many people do I need to speak to today to make the 10 transactions I need for the day?

2. How much do I have to earn every day to pay basic expenses such as rent and food?

Please do create some long-term goals while you go after these short-term actions and goals, and you will learn that when you reach your smaller or short-term goals, you start having the confidence you need to reach the long-term goals.

BEFORE YOU GO

We see our blogs as opportunities for dialogue. Please share your thoughts as comments.

1. What stage of business are you in?

2. What long-term goals do you need, and how do you define them?

3. How can you define them in terms of one year, five years, ten years, etc.?

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Faris Alami is Founder and CEO of International Strategic Management, Inc.(ISM). He works internationally, presenting Exploring Entrepreneurship Workshops and other entrepreneurial ecosystem — related ventures.