It's tempting to create a business and then dictate to that business exactly what it's going to be when it grows up. Much like an overly-eager parent with their child's life front-loaded with expectations before they’ve barely stepped through their preschool doors, it’s easy to overlook the fact that once a business takes its first breath, it begins a unique journey all its own. As the visionary, it is up to you to pay extremely close attention and respond as your concept reveals itself to you. Holding on too loosely will allow for complacency and being too rigid can lead to ruin. Instead of being an overly-eager parent, you will find the greatest long-term rewards from being an aware, responsive parent. 

Sticking with this analogy, like children, business concepts need careful guidance. They need structure. They need nurturing. While it is important to set boundaries for growth and protection - it is also important to encourage unexpected individuality and ability so that your concept’s business momentum can be harnessed, its presentation can be perfected and its maximum expansion reached.  This doesn’t mean that you don’t set the goals, after all, you are called the visionary for a reason. You should, indeed, set goals and stick to them - but much as a parent would set goals for their child to have a well-rounded life, gain a useful education and find fulfillment in the world around them. Where you will find great satisfaction and great richness within your entrepreneurial experience, is when your concept is old enough for you to work together to reach the next level. 

Allowing your concept to blossom inside this greenhouse of leadership will facilitate the model-maturity needed to scale. Because you will have been paying close attention since your concept’s infancy, you will be the perfect one to help it determine which pathway to replication it should take. For some, that means a future of corporate growth; all of its locations owned and operated by the visionary company. Many companies have found great success along this road. For others, their concept is perfect for franchising; locations owned and operated by independent franchisees. Many companies have found great success along this road as well. 

It’s everything between your concept’s first cry and graduation that you can impact it for its greatest good. Life is always going to happen while we’re making other plans - but as the visionary, you can only do your best to ready your concept for its own best story. 

Momentum harnessed. Presentation perfected. Maximum expansion ready to be reached. 

We’ll have the Kleenex ready.