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On The Priority Pursuit Podcast, Kelly, Victoria, and the rest of the Treefrog Marketing team regularly discuss strategies and tactics for growing your small business, meeting your goals, and taking your company to the next level.
However, in this episode, Kelly wants to clarify something: Bigger doesn’t always mean better.
Scaling and expanding aren’t the only indicators of success, and in this episode, Kelly shares how she learned this lesson the hard way and how you can cast a vision for your business that allows you to build a life and small business that you love.
Kelly had to learn that bigger doesn’t always mean better the hard way.
In this episode, Kelly shares that she recently read Company of One by Paul Jarvis.
“I felt like the author was saying everything that I had learned over the past 20-plus years—especially about how staying ‘small on purpose’ presented so much more opportunity to grow as a business, develop and support staff, and find a stronger work-life balance,” Kelly says. “I felt his words so deeply because every small business owner is taught or often assumes that scaling and expanding are the ultimate indicators of success. But, the reality of this isn’t true for all.”
While you can hear Kelly’s full story via the audio or video available at the top of the page, Kelly explains that she had to make “mistakes” to learn this lesson.
In 2016, Kelly decided to “grow exponentially.” She—like most small business owners—assumed more clients and staff would make her business more profitable and allow her to pay higher wages, do more in the community, hire more people, and attract more clients.
She hired a salesperson, and while work was coming in and new clients were signing contracts, it wasn’t the “right” work and they weren’t the “right” clients.
This resulted in both stress and an immense amount of work for the Treefrog team that did not end up being profitable.
Kelly shares, “During this season, I was unhappy; my family time was taken over by work that needed to be done; and my key staff were so tired and burnt out that they didn’t feel like they had a purpose and really didn’t enjoy coming to work anymore.”
Kelly and the Treefrog leadership team made the decision to “downsize”—which included restructuring services, saying goodbye to clients who weren’t the right fit, and letting team members go.
Again, you can hear Kelly’s full story via the audio or video available at the top of the page or wherever you listen to podcasts. However, Kelly concludes this story by sharing, “I clearly had to learn that bigger isn’t always better the hard way . . . But, I truly hope my story and the tactics I’m getting ready to share with you can spare you, your loved ones, and your team from the same headaches and heartaches.”
You need to establish a vision for your business.
You might feel pressured to grow and scale. However, before you make any business decisions or even think about your marketing, you need to cast a vision for where you want to go. You need to decide what you want the future of your company to look like.
Otherwise, you will more likely than not find yourself chasing goals and making decisions that aren’t in alignment with who you are or what you want your business to be—like Kelly did in 2016.
A quick, practical way to solidify your business's identity and to cast a vision for it is to write a:
- Company vision statement
- Mission statement for your short-term goals
- Mission statement for your long-term goals
This is a practice that Kelly and Victoria have all of their strategic marketing coaching students do during their first session. These statements are intended to inspire and provide direction by outlining a clear idea of what your organization aims to achieve in the long run and why. If you refer to them regularly, these statements will help ensure that your actions and decisions are aligned with the goals you have for your life and business.
Kelly shares more about these statements, their purposes, and how to use them in the audio and video for this episode. But, below, you’ll find the basic purpose and formula for each.
Company Vision Statement
A company vision statement explains what your company aspires to be and the impact you want to have.
Formula: We are X so that our customers can achieve Y.
Example: At Treefrog, we’re an impactful marketing partner that helps small businesses build marketing strategies and systems so that they can streamline their efforts, generate business growth, and create loyal customers—regardless of budget.
Mission Statements
In addition to writing a company vision statement, Kelly recommends writing mission statements for both your short-term and long-term goals that inspire you and your team (if you have one).
Mission statements are important because every human being is looking for two things:
- To be part of a story that’s bigger than themselves
- To understand how they can play an important role in that story
When you create mission statements for both your short-term and long-term goals in a strategic way, you will be reminded that you’re part of an important story and that your gifts, skills, and hard work matter.
Short-Term Mission Statement
Your short-term mission statement should focus on the goals you aim to achieve in the next one to two years. This statement should also detail how these goals support your company’s overall vision.
Formula: We will accomplish X, X, and X by Y because Z.
Example: We will close five new flywheel clients, add two fractional CMO partnerships, and receive 98% client satisfaction survey results by the end of the year because small businesses are the backbone of our community, deserve to be successful, and shouldn’t have to waste their time and money trying to figure out marketing on their own.
Using this formula will help you align yourself and your team around your current priorities and help determine where your time, energy, and resources need to go so you don’t get distracted by tasks, projects, or ideas that aren’t in alignment with your vision.
Additionally, as Kelly shares, “You can track your progress and review these goals in your weekly stand-up meetings. This will help you and your team to understand where you are, what needs to be done, and get them thinking about what they can do to help achieve these goals.”
Long-Term Mission Statement
In addition to a short-term mission statement, Kelly also encourages writing a long-term mission statement that outlines the long-term goals for your business—whether that be over the next five years or even longer.
Formula: We will accomplish X, X, and X by Y because Z.
Example: We will maintain a minimum of 10 monthly flywheel clients, consistently manage five fractional CMO partnerships, and implement a lucrative profit-sharing opportunity to team members by 2029 because helping others succeed is what we are called to do.
You’ll note that the formulas for the short-term and long-term mission statements are the same. However, again, your short-term statement should be written with the next one to two years in mind, and your long-term statement should be written with the next five or more years in mind.
Your small business can be whatever you want it to be—but only if you decide what you want it to be.
Your vision and mission statements are intended to inspire and provide direction. They’re going to give you a clear outline of what your organization aims to achieve and why.
And, if you refer to them regularly, these statements are going to help make sure that your actions and decisions are aligned with the goals you have for your life and business—whether that means scaling or staying small on purpose.
As Kelly says at the end of this episode, “While I hope you’ll take the time to write these statements, please remember that bigger doesn’t always mean better. One of the most beautiful things about owning or leading a small business is that it can be whatever you want it to be. You just have to take the time to decide what that is and what priorities you need to pursue in order to get there.”
Links & Resources Mentioned in This Episode
- Company of One by Paul Jarvis
- “Episode 136: How to Create a Personal Vision for Your Life & Business with Mark Dolfini”
- Strategic Marketing Coaching
- Receive 50% Off Your First Year of HoneyBook
- Learn More About Treefrog’s Small Business Marketing Resources & Services
- Join the Priority Pursuit Facebook Community
- Follow or DM Treefrog Marketing on Instagram
- Follow or DM Kelly Rice on Instagram
- Follow or DM Victoria Rayburn on Instagram
The Priority Pursuit Podcast is a podcast dedicated to helping small business owners define, maintain, and pursue both their personal and business priorities so they can build lives and businesses they love.
You can find The Priority Pursuit Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts, Stitcher, and wherever you listen to podcasts.
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