You’ve got a new or existing business and a boatload of goals. The only thing standing between you and your vision is making them real in this new landscape.

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If you’re dreaming of making millions from your business, there are a few things to keep in mind.

Step One: Investigate Your Structural Readiness

Is your business truly ready to go? If you’re not sure, you may need to do some sleuth work and get an outside consultant.

You may believe that since you’ve got a hot idea, a business plan, and start-up capital, that you’re ready for action. However, there could be some things you still need to do to get ready for maximum results.

Think of your ideal success as if it were a dream home. You’d want to investigate your property to make sure everything was in full working order. You might not know all the details. You’d work with professionals, such as a roofer, a plumber, or an architect.

If you have never checked out a dream mansion, you would not leave this up to chance. You’d read up on how to be sure you’re hiring the best experts. You might read a guide on how to hire a good roofer, how to hire a good plumber, and/or how to hire an architect.

Once you’d analyzed your property’s readiness, you’d have answers to crucial questions.

The same thing holds for your business. You might work with a business advisor to analyze your readiness – to make sure that all your business structures are poised for success.

Step Two: Analyze Your Business Skills

Let’s move ahead to looking at your business skills. As a small business CEO, you are juggling a lot of different, moving pieces. Perhaps you went to business school and understand the academic aspect of the business. Perhaps you have learned—on the job. Either way, your business skills will need to pass the test of real life.

You’ll need to be able to create a vision, plan a strategy, and take action with specific tactics. You’ll get familiar with real-life challenges and obstacles. This isn’t like a classroom assignment because often a lot is riding on your success.

For instance, you could be responsible for paying rent on office space, paying salaries for employees, and bringing home the lion’s share of income for your family.

Much like the example of getting help from a property expert, you may want to get a business consultant or mentor to evaluate your skills.

When you’re analyzing your business skills, look for your core skills to effectively launch your business:

• Do you have a business plan?
• Do you have a strategy?
• Do you have all the tools in place?
• Do you have the team you need?
• Do you have the finances in order?

Step Three: Take Action

In many cases, the perfect small business launch is like a ‘diamond-in-the-rough.’ You may have some work to do to achieve the income, workflow, team, and profitability that you’re envisioning.

Don’t worry or despair. You can get there. With a smart plan, you can take decisive action towards achieving your goals.

Think about that dream house to get the picture. Some property owners are die-in-the-wool DIY’ers. Others know their strengths and weaknesses and hire experts to do the parts they aren’t good at. They leave the plumbing, electrical, and sheetrock to experts.

Which type of business owner are you? You probably know in your gut. If you always need to control every detail, you may have a set of actions to take. If you are more of a delegator, you have a different set of actions to take.

If you tend to do everything yourself, keep one thing in mind. You may start strong, but as your business grows you could become the bottleneck. Your desire to be hands-on could limit the growth of your business. On the other hand, if you can learn to delegate, you’ll be able to build systems, design workflows, and grow a successful team. You’ll have a roadmap of actions for success.

Sum Up

Running a small business can be a lot like remodeling or renovating a dream house. If you want to achieve the heights of success that you’re dreaming about, get your vision clear. Use outside experts to investigate your readiness, analyze your skills, and take decisive action.

With these three steps, you can go from where you are today – to where you’re envisioning yourself in the future.