Whether you're starting a new business or developing an 
existing one, if you want to build it up, first you 
need to design it.  This design should not only attract 
success but 'fit' for you personally.  Instead of 
moulding yourself to fit your business and conform to a 
particular way of doing business, you can design your 
business so that it is unique to you. 

If you think you can't design your business the way you 
want it to be, it's possible that conventional thinking 
and some of your ingrained beliefs are getting in the 
way.  Most things are possible.  You just need to shift
your thinking out of the box and look for possibilities.  
Force-fitting yourself into how you think your business 
'should' be will often result in discomfort.  It's like 
being a square peg in a round hole.  Instead, design 
your business to be unique and personalised to you so 
that it enhances your life, instead of torturing you.  

Too many people go into business for themselves and 
then find that somewhere down the road they've lost a 
big part of themselves to their business.  The reason 
may be the long hours they're working or they feel 
stuck and frustrated by how the business has turned out.  
Whatever stage you're at with your business you can 
choose to design it the way you want.  On a blank 
canvas, lay out the foundations, the structures and the 
finished result.  A key to designing your business is 
to get in touch with your authentic self, focusing 
internally and trusting yourself, then identify what 
you truly want from your business.  When you've got it 
designed, you'll be ready to take the steps towards 
making your business as you see it.  You'll need to go 
to work on your business, not just be working in it, to 
fulfil this design.  Working on your business means you 
must stop regularly, take a couple of steps back and 
look at the whole of your business objectively.  This 
gives you an opportunity to assess, evaluate and 
identify new improvements, possibilities and ideas.  

Designing your business is more than a business plan; 
it's also about how your business is integrated with 
your life.  Designing your business requires it to be 
in alignment with your values, and your personal vision, 
mission and purpose. It needs to support your creative 
productivity; it needs to compensate you for what 
you're best at.  The design needs to include your 
business aims, the ideal way in which you want to 
operate, as well as the preferred clients you want to 
work with and the roles and responsibilities you 
ideally want to carry out yourself.  As you're on the 
road to growing your business in such a way that it 
fulfils your design, there may be some choices you need 
to make along the road that aren't ideal.  For example, 
you may need to do some of the work that, in a perfect 
world, you don't want to do, but if you have the design 
already in place, it gives you a clear idea of your 
aims.  

Your business can be the way you want it.  First make 
the choice, design it ideally for you and then follow 
through consistently with inspired actions to transform 
the design into reality.