Losing focus. It happens to the best of us. We start a business with a vigor. We have a set of ideals that we adhere to. We pour our soul into our companies and collaborate on a Mission. The team gathers and momentum builds. The company begins to earn revenue. We think clearly, strategically, and intelligently. The company grows in revenue and expenses are kept at acceptable levels. Things are going well and you decide to let up. You have worked hard and deserve some down time right? Yes and no.

Yes you deserve to relax. No you shouldn’t do it daily. You worked hard. Take a vacation. Depending upon the intensity and frequency of your work, you should vacation up to 4 times a year. You may even vacation 4 times a year and cut your work hours. But, do not take it easy or slack of at work. And, whatever you do, do not lose sight of your mission.

Many small business owners do not even have a mission statement or they do not see the value in one. They believe it is some corporate motivational thing and a waste of time. I am speaking from experience because I was one such person. My perspective was skewed. From the sole proprietor to the multi-national corporation, all businesses should have a mission statement.

A mission statement is the reason you are in business. From Rich Dad coaching and the Rich Dad Poor Dad series of books, I learned that a mission state should embody your professional and your spiritual reasons for operating that entity. Your professional reason being the one that generates your revenue and the spiritual one being the one that defines how you help others in the process.

When things start going into disarray at your company, chances are you are not following your mission statement. Your mission statement is your war cry, your guiding light, your reason that is bigger than yourself (as it pertains to your company). When your cash reserves are built and you are considering expansion in area, product, or service, ask yourself “Is this within the parameters of my mission?” If it is not, do not do it. When presented with, what appears to be a great deal, ask yourself “Is this in accordance with my mission statement?” If it is not, do not do it. You have developed a formula that works by concentrating on your mission statement. Keep your company profitable and your team members happy and continue to concentrate on your mission while improving upon your processes.

I am not implying that you should throw away opportunity. On the contrary, I never pass up an opportunity that fits my personality and style of business. However, if it does not fit the mission statement of one of my current entities, I form a new entity around that mission statement. If the expansion for one of my companies is outside the scope of the mission statement, I create another entity to continue in that direction or find another entrepreneur that I can form a symbiotic relationship to accomplish the same goal.

I have found that when you lose focus, your company suffers. When you become distracted from the basics of what made your company great, your company will inform you through loss of revenue. But this can be avoided when you create a mission statement from the beginning. Create the mission statement and make sure that every person you add to your team reads it, agrees with it, and can perform in accordance with it prior to hiring them on. Build systems that support the mission statement and train team members to focus on it. This way, when you want to take a vacation or decide to slack a little, your company will continue to cruise on and revenue will follow its habit of increasing your cash reserves.

Remember, if you don’t already have one, create that mission statement. Do it now. The only person that you are hurting by not creating one is yourself and your company.