So you’ve quit your job, rounded up some financing (from your savings account) and are ready to go. Now what? During this stage you should be focused on: (1) articulating your vision and values, (2) hiring the right people and (3) developing a proof of concept.

Vision and values

You may not have noticed, but I haven’t spent enough time speaking about the importance of a company’s values. That’s a big mistake that I humbly apologize for. I know from experience how divergent values can tear apart a working relationship. You must articulate them up front. (This article over at the Entrepreneurial Mind talks about values and touches on how they can be implemented.)

Think about the problem facing consumers or society and how you intend on solving it. Create a meaningful vision. A meaningful vision is something that you genuinely believe and hope to achieve. Don’t create a vision for your business plan, create it as a guide to all that will come after. Make it inspirational.

Your values support your vision by describing how you intend to get there. To give you an idea look at IBM:

In the end, IBMers determined that our actions will be driven by these values:

• Dedication to every client’s success
• Innovation that matters, for our company and for the world
• Trust and personal responsibility in all relationships

(From: http://www.ibm.com/ibm/values/us/)

Meaningful values should inform your actions. Everything produced by the company should be aligned with your values. Most importantly management must live out these values. People are more cynical than ever and one faux pas will make people think “those values are just for show”.

People

Hire the most outstanding people you can and make sure that they share your values. Lure them with equity if you must. If you’re having trouble, here’s a rule of thumb to follow: hire individuals that are smarter than you. Management is the foundation of every good business. Don’t settle. You’re going to need to find people with business acumen, market-specific knowledge and operational experience. Take a look at what’s missing from your resume and fill in the gaps.

Proof of concept

Your vision will articulate the problem that your company is attempting to solve. Develop your solution to the problem. What is the market? Is the market growing? What is the urgency of the problem? How much can be made from your solution? And is that solution scalable?

Once you’ve answered these questions set about creating the best solution you can. Constantly improve your product or service with feedback from your customers. Use your vision and values as a guide to how you’ll create value for your clients.

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A final word of advice: spend whatever money you have wisely. Be especially cautious if you’re seeking financing. A smart investor will judge you in part by how you’ve spent your money up to this point.

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