Written by Pamela Chatry for TimeFinders on-line magazine www.timefindersmagazine.com

In my work I have met thousands of entrepreneurs, yet only a small few stands out for me. I call them ‘Forward Thinking Entrepreneurs’ or ‘FTEs’. They all share some amazing personality traits, but today I want to share what they do to stand out from the rest.

Let’s look at the five consistent activities ‘Forward Thinking Entrepreneurs (FTEs) always build in to their days, weeks and years and learn from them.

  1. FTEs identify where the company goals are for the next year and then work backwards in segments of three months. They establish what revenues the company will need for each quarter and ask: What costs need to be kept in line? How many new customers do we need?
  2.  They receive financial reports for each quarter and then book quality time to review progress to-date. The owner asks important questions: Are we on target for the quarter? How does the company stand year-to-date? Then they react, revise and plan accordingly.
  3. FTEs create and work from a marketing calendar. They look ahead and book monthly activities. They include task deadlines, persons accountable, and costs attached. They always include a date for a marketing review meeting. This gives the owner the opportunity to assess whether the marketing activity or advertising was worth it. They ask hard questions, and at the end of the review make a recommendation for next year.
  4. FTEs make big business decisions based upon knowledge and fact, not on gut or spontaneity. The wrong decision can be very costly. Sometimes the right decision can be as well, but at the very least it was made carefully. Research is a big word for FTEs. They know their industry, competition, community, finances, etc. They ask difficult questions in order to give them information and eliminate risk. No time or money is committed until all the questions are answered.
  5. This is the big one! Forward thinking entrepreneurs believe that it takes a community of like-minded people to make a successful company. They know what they love to do and what they don’t and hire accordingly. FTEs are constantly on the lookout for the right people with the best talents, skills and values to contribute to the success of their company. The ‘Forward Thinking Entrepreneur’ has also set the benchmarks of excellence and holds everyone accountable. They are a success team!