Do you know where you’re going?

  • How specifically can you define the key elements or goals of the business you want?  Could you describe it to a stranger in three sentences or less?
  • How has your vision of that business changed?  Has it grown sharper?
  • How has your vision for your business been influenced – positively or negatively – from what you’ve learned thus far?
  • How will you know when you’ve got the business you want?  What metrics are you looking for?

Have you identified the real constraints?

  • Of everything standing in your way, which constraint, if addressed, would unlock the most progress?  Is that what you’re working on?
  • Is this the same answer you would have given last year?  If not, what’s changed?
  • What have you been targeting that isn’t actually the main constraint?

Which constraints are internal?

  • What are you protecting about current operations?  Do you protect it because it works, or because it’s familiar?
  • Which changes do you know you have to make that would force you to admit you’d made a mistake?
  • Where has the desire for stability started to overshadow your desire to grow?
  • What’s something you’re afraid to admit that you’re afraid of?

Which outside factors are holding you back?

  • What’s outside your control right now (funding, market size, regulation, etc.)? How important is this, honestly?
  • If it’s truly an external constraint, is there a way to accept it and work with or around it?
  • What resource or addition would meaningfully change your options?  How?  (Be detailed and honest)

What would you need to change?

  • What habit, relationship, or way of operating that built your business might now be holding it back?
  • What would you have to give up to reach the next stage?
  • What’s the hardest change you’ve been avoiding?

Are you being honest with yourself?

  • Which constraints have you known about and not acted on? Why?  How valid is that excuse?
  • What would you tell a friend about what’s holding you back?
  • What would you need to stop tolerating to actually move?
  • A year from now, what specific aspect of your business do you want to have changed to know you’re on your way to the business you want?
  • What’s one action, with one specific date, you’re willing to commit to?

Want more information on growing your business

Watch the video or read the full post to learn more about what may be blocking your growth and what you can do about it.

Other key elements in building a business for growth:

  • As you grow, make sure you’re building your company to last (post and key questions)
  • A young business can become busier without truly growing. Make sure you understand the difference and are on a track for growth (post and key questions)