The Importance of Having a Vision And Setting Goals in Business

Over 70 years ago the French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said, “a goal without a plan is just a wish.” He could not have been closer to the truth when he echoed those words. Since the start of JT Acquisitions, we’ve been deliberate about everything that we do. We know what we want, create timelines, and are constantly thinking about how we can improve. If it wasn’t for running our business in this fashion, we would not be successful, nor have gotten very far. While I recognize that it’s the early days of our business and much is yet to be actualized, the future is bright for our investors and team as a result of how we operate.

This post is a step back from the technical-niched content that we normally post weekly. This week we will cover a more philosophical concept that is very necessary and can be easily overlooked. In this post, we’ll cover what our vision is for JT Acquisitions and why having an aim and setting goals is crucial for a business. The goal of this post is to have you reflect on what it is that you want for the future on a personal level and business level if you happen to have one.

The topic of having a vision sounds cheesy, but it is what guides this world. Jumping away from a business context for a second, have you bothered to ask yourself what you are aiming for or what your vision is? I find most people cannot even answer that question which leaves them open to being influenced by others. In a world where we are constantly being bombarded by data and are becoming increasingly connected from a technological perspective, it’s easy to become aimless at a personal and business level. Jordan Peterson expressed the importance of having an aim/vision well when he said:

“An aim, an ambition, provides the structure necessary for action. An aim provides a destination, a point of contrast against the present, and a framework, within which all things can be evaluated. An aim defines progress and makes such progress exciting. An aim reduces anxiety, because if you have no aim everything can mean anything or nothing..”

A vision provides an overarching purpose, while goals break down that purpose into achievable targets. Together, they form a roadmap that guides a business, inspires its stakeholders, and contributes to its long-term success. 

Note – The definitions of the technical terms in any of our posts can be found in the glossary section of our website.

Why Having a Vision and Settings Goals are Important

A vision provides a sense of direction and purpose for a business. It outlines where the organization wants to go and what it aspires to achieve. This helps in aligning the efforts of the employees towards a common objective. A compelling vision inspires and motivates employees. When individuals understand the larger purpose and goals of the organization, they are more likely to be engaged and motivated to contribute to its success. 

Goals derived from the vision help in strategic planning and decision-making. They provide a framework for allocating resources, setting priorities, and making choices that are in line with the overall vision of the business. Goals serve as measurable targets against which performance can be assessed. This allows for regular evaluation of progress and facilitates adjustments to strategies and tactics to ensure that the business is on track to achieve its vision. A well-defined vision often includes a customer-centric perspective. This ensures that business goals are aligned with delivering value to customers, which is essential for long-term success and sustainability. 

A business’s customers, partners, and other stakeholders can tell when an organization has a well-defined aim. The businesses who have this are unique and set apart from the competition in a number of ways that people can identify. You don’t have to look very hard to see the companies that set themselves apart. I’m thinking Nike, Apple, Pepsi, and many more. When you think of those companies, your mind jumps to certain ideas and you feel a certain way. 

I’ll end this section with yet another quote (as if I haven’t already put so many in this post):

“The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” – Helen Keller

The Vision for JT Acquisitons

At JT, we know that we have an incredibly long runway to actualize all of the projects and ideas that we have. In other words, time is on our side. Knowing this, we dream big. Our vision isn’t easily stated in a sentence or two because we want to be able to make an impact on several levels. The key word here is “impact.” We want to be able to not only change the lives of people financially, but we want to educate and be a beacon of hope for what is possible for everyone. At the end of the day, we are an investment company, but money isn’t truly what drives us. The friends, families, and tenants that we’ve impacted in numerous ways is why we do what we do. When a tenant shows their appreciation to our property management team or we talk to friends and they see the undeniable passion that comes out of our team when we talk about what we do, those are examples of times that fuel the fire for us. 

Our vision is one where we create generational wealth for our investors and team. At the community level, we want to be able to change the lives of people by providing safe and enjoyable housing. Beyond that, we want to be able to educate as many people as possible about the benefits of real estate. We trust that by aiming big, we can motivate others to start their own businesses or go after the dreams they may not have thought possible for themselves. 

We’ve established a few 2024 goals for ourselves to make sure we’re benchmarking our progress. Firstly, we want to have at least one of our property managers go full-time working for JT and quit their current job. Additionally, we believe we can have another two non-property management-related team members quit their jobs and go full-time. In terms of assets under management, we’re targeting $10M by the end of 2024 and have something in the works which will set us off on a strong start in the new year. Looking ahead to 2025, it’s likely that we will have the majority of our team be able to work full-time for the business and have an office space where we can collaborate. Setting our gauze even further out, we’re targeting a $100 million portfolio in the west side of Chicago and eventually $1 billion in assets under management, although we don’t have a target date for those at the moment. Nevertheless, these are a few of the goals that we’re aiming for and will continue to adjust as we learn and adapt.

Conclusion

There is no excuse for a business not to have a vision and set goals appropriately to make it come to reality. This critical component of a business should not be ignored and when it is, the consequences can be massive. At JT Acquisitions, we have found that having multiple targets provides perspective which especially comes in handy after working long hours. Our targets are crafted with our dreams for what our company can become in mind. At the heart of everything that we do, we think about our long-term impact. We think about the people whose lives we can change and how we can become 1% better everyday. 

I hadn’t thought about it when I came up with this post idea, but this is being published at a perfect time. This month is typically when people create their goals for the next year and do some self-reflection. I’d encourage you to reflect on your vision for the future and question what it is that you really want. 

If you have any questions regarding the terms and concepts in this post or previous ones, please reach out to either me (tedi.nati@jtacquisitions.com) or someone on our team so we can help explain further. If you’re interested in investing with us at JT Acquisitions, you can contact us via our contact form, by emailing a member of our team, messaging us on LinkedIn, or signing up for our investor portal to set up a meeting.

As always, I hope you enjoyed reading this post as much as I have writing it. Best of luck and happy holiday!