Establishing an effective master business strategy is the most important single thing you can do to make your business successful. A slight change of strategy can have a massive impact on your success. It can reduce your risk, improve your rewards and thrust you to the leadership of your chosen market.

But how do you go about setting a strategy? Isn't it hard? Doesn't it take more knowledge and ability than most small business owners possess?

Establishing a strategy is actually fairly simple. It is asking the right questions and finding appropriate answers to those questions. Although simple, it isn't easy. Some of the key questions may cause you hours of contemplation and force you to search your own motivations and goals.

A master strategy is your big picture game plan for the business. It is a broad overview of what you are attempting to accomplish and how you plan to do it.

Most small businesses never establish a good master strategy because the owners and managers are so involved in dealing with the day-to-day problems of the business. They are so busy doing the daily work necessary for survival that they really don't stop to consider where the path they are on is going.

The following questions should give you a good start in understanding your own objectives and motivations as well as understanding the big picture for your business.

Questions about you:

		Why did you get into this business in the first place?
		What is the overall objective you want to achieve with your business?
		Why are you trying to achieve that objective?
		Do you feel that you are making progress toward your overall objectives?

Questions about your customers:

		Who are your customers?
		What benefits do your customers receive from your product or service?
		Can you clearly define and describe your ideal customer?
		Why do your customers buy from you rather than someone else?
		What changes do you see coming that will impact your customers?

Questions about your product or service:

		How do you deliver the product or service that you sell your customer?
		How do you price your product or service?
		What can you do that increases the value of your product or service to your customers? (Value is determined only by the customer and is something the customer will pay for.)

Questions about the future:

		What changes do you see coming in the future that will impact you?
		What are the biggest obstacles and limitations you currently face?
		How do you plan to deal with those obstacles and limitations?
		What are your most promising opportunities?
		How do you plan to take advantage of those opportunities?

Careful thinking about those questions and any others that occur to you is key to establishing the background for your master strategy.

Now you are ready to actually create the strategy. It is helpful to write the strategy down so you clarify your thinking and have something to come back to in the future as you continue to refine and perhaps even change the strategy based on better information.

It is often helpful to work with someone else. Someone not as close to the business can often help you broaden your thinking and the resulting strategy will be better than anything you generate on your own.

Now write out your master strategy or game plan as follows:

		Personal Objective. First you write a personal objective. It is a brief, clear statement of why you are doing this in the first place. What is it you want out of the business? What is your motivation?
		Mission Statement. Next write a mission statement for the business. What is the purpose of the business? What is its function? How will it contribute to society? Make this statement clear and understandable.
		Guiding Principles. Next list the guiding principles that you will follow as you build the business. These are the principles you will come back to again and again as you consider your business plans. They form the constitution of your enterprise to keep you moving in a single direction when the business is faced with the pressures and storms that will come.
		Key Plan Elements. With your objectives and principles in place, now write out the four or five key elements of your plan. These are the major campaigns or pillars that will allow you to achieve your objective. It is helpful to list them in the order that you plan to put them in place.
		Reconsider. Allow your statement of master strategy to sit for a week or two and then take a fresh look at it. Consider the following questions to see of your master strategy passes its first test. Is your personal objective a clear statement of what you really want to achieve? Is the mission statement the real purpose for your business? Are your guiding principles the timeless, foundation principles you really believe are the keys to a lasting success? Are the key elements of the plan the most effective and optimum way to achieve your plans? With the same time, effort, resources and energy could you achieve a better outcome or result with some other strategy? Are you passionate, excited and motivated to follow this strategy?
		Rewrite the Strategy. Using insights you gain from this last group of questions, rewrite the master strategy. It won't be perfect, and it may have many iterations and rewrites in the future, but at least you have accomplished what very few small business people ever do --- you have a master strategy.

Congratulations. This short document is your master game plan. Refer to it frequently and change it when you need to. A master strategy is dynamic. It should change over time as you gain more experience and vision for the business.