Having just started this small business I am loathe to make any “grand” pronouncements about how it should be run. I have ideas certainly, many built on years of experience running teams and groups. But, running your own small business can clearly be a different animal. In fact, if there’s one lesson that I’ve seen repeated over and over it’s that the facts on the ground change, and those that survive have the ability to adapt. Often this requires realizing that what you want the truth to be may not be reality. All this caveating aside, I think it is important to have a simple set of authentic principles you start out with as long as you are willing to reexamine them in the face of reality as you go.

To that end, Not Just For Profit seems like a good place to start:

“Many people believe that a ruthless, profit-driven management style is the best way to succeed in business. Nothing could be further from the truth. By focusing solely on profit, you destroy your company’s long-term growth and may even diminish its short term potential. Look at any industry and you will find the companies that run best and last longest are those that follow some if not all of the 5 points of the Not-Just-For-Profit strategy.”

I think it will take time to for us to have substance behind each of the statements the site espouses, but having goals is good.