My articles are about the subject of financial management, but you may have noticed that much of the time I don’t talk about numbers or mathematical formulas. Why is that?
    It is because I have noticed that people often confuse numbers with events. They forget that numbers are only a representation of events that have actually occurred or events that we think are going to happen; But numbers are not the actual events themselves. We have to remember that the numbers we use to represent events are often estimations, a guess. Good guesses, but a guess just the same.
    Numbers guide us, numbers help us keep score, keep track, and keep on track. Ultimately, though, business is not just about numbers, but also about your relationships with other people: your suppliers, customers, employees, investors and the community at large.
    Business is about your story – the problems you solve, how you solve them, what makes you different, and thus what makes you interesting. We all have a story that is uniquely our own and that other people would like to hear. But often when we start to talk, their eyes glaze over because we don’t always tell our story in an interesting way, or we forget that what is interesting to one person is of no interest to another.
    Take my parents, for example. They both love ice cream, and my mother is a big fan of jamoca almond fudge. But there is no way you could get my father interested in a bowl of jamoca almond fudge because he is a burgundy cherry kind of guy. Both like ice cream, but what is a taste sensation to one is not at all appealing to the other.
    How you can tell your story in such an interesting way that people who have money will want to invest in you?
    Did you notice that I said invest in you? That’s what the investors actually invest in – you your plan, and your ability to make it happen.
    Remember, too, that it may be your plan, but you can’t do it alone–no one can. If your business is to grow and be successful, you need to have other people helping you. You need a team, and you need a team that has the skill set to help you execute your business plan. In fact, one thing that ensures an investor’s interest is that you have in place a management team with the experience needed to make your plan happen. And if any of the team members have worked together before, so much the better.
    If you already have a team in place, do they know what your plan is? Sure, if you ask them what your company does, they can probably answer: “we are a systems integrator, we provide janitorial services, we sell widgets†and so forth. What i’m talking about, though, is if they know what it is you are trying to accomplish, what it is that motivated you to start your business in the first place?
    If you assume your team knows the plan, there’s a good chance you aren’t correct. Ask your team to tell you the purpose of your business and you’re likely to get several different answers. I actually hope you don’t, but if you do, you know you have an important communication issue that needs to be resolved right away.
    The way to solve it is to create a mission statement and distribute to all of your employees. Let them in on what you are trying to do – it will help keep them focused on the activities required to make your business a success.
    And it’s not just for your employees – it’s for you as well. Writing a mission statement will sharpen your focus. When your focus is sharp, you can be clear, and you will be able to tell your story in many different ways, so that no matter who you talk to, you will have their interest.
