# General Business Category > Entrepreneurship and Business Management Forum >  BHAG's - how big is yours?

## mother

Personally, I believe more in having a BHAG than I do in having a business plan. Ok, perhaps because I'm a bit of a dreamer, but how can the captain of a ship not have a dream to chase? I'm sure Da Gama and Columbus also had a twinkle or two in their eyes. Is ambition not simply having a dream plus having the determination to make it happen?

Anyway, I just added a fabulous BHAG to my business plan (geez, I've been at this plan for over a month now!). I won't bore you with the details of this BHAG, but I will tell you that a quick "back-of-fag-packet" costing, shows that we could expect a turnover of 
R2,000,000,000 per month!!!   :Yikes:   :Yikes:   :Yikes: 

Hehehehe... okay, so I think I'll have a whiskey now... and I'll return to this plan again tomorrow! It is so ridiculous, it has to be wrong... or what if it's right? NO! NO! NO! Going to have a drink now, while you guys tell me how big your BHAG's are! :Drunk:

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## Pap_sak

had to look it up..but for others:

The term Big Hairy Audacious Goal ("BHAG") was proposed by James Collins and
Jerry Porras in their 1996 article entitled Building Your Company's Vision

one thing I have learn't about myself is that I am more about ego than money...I am more interested in having a large business because it's "strokes my ego", rather than because of the greater profit...Don't get me wrong, profit is good, but for me - larger business is better. 

Weird, but at least i have come to realize how shallow I am!!

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## daveob

Big Hairy Audacious Goal -- working as little as possible while maintaining an existing slow and steady growing residual income, not having to drive to work, living with no debt ( except the house, which is affordable on the income ), not keeping up with the Jones's, spending as much time as possible with the wife & kids, staying out the rat race ( been there, done that, experienced the eventual burn-out ), avoid rush hour traffic, sit and watch the sea every morning with coffee ( and lunch and all afternoon if I wanted to ).

oops. got there already ( 5 year plan that took 15 years, mind you ). Time for a new BHAG.

.. my point is, it's different for everyone.

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## Neville Bailey

And, for those of you who haven't read my blog (http://nevillebailey.wordpress.com), my BHAG is to build up a critical mass of clients that I can support remotely, so that I can get into a mobile home and tour the country aimlessly, whilst continuing to generate income from wherever I might be. 

So far, 40% of my income is derived from remote support, so I am well on my way to becoming a true nomadic consultant!

Sent from my BlackBerry 8520 using Tapatalk

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## mother

> it's different for everyone.


Absolutely! And as you guys have proved, individual BHAGs are very personal (often emotional) as well. It is that ultimate personal desire that drives you towards success. Once you know what you want, you will direct your actions towards achieving it. And Daveob, it is so encouraging to hear about people who achieved theirs. Awesome!

And just as a person needs a Big Hairy Audacious Goal to chase, a business needs at least one BHAG. It defines the business' ultimate dream, without specifying how it will get there. The point is really just put into words what the "first prize" would be. A business plan is far more practical, and must explain how specific goals will be achieved in a specific time frame. The BHAG is not something you break down into a 5 year strategy, but if you have a clearly defined BHAG for your business, your 5 year strategy will definitely be shaped around moving towards that BHAG. In my opinion your BHAG should be big enough to almost be ridiculous, but not impossible. For example, TFSA's BHAG could be to publish an international bestseller  Practical Handbook for Entrepreneurs, based on years of opinions and experience of small business owners, collected here on this forum. It's a big enough goal, with a big enough budget, to almost be ridiculous, but it's not impossible.

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## IanF

Mother
Are you a closet business school lecturer, this is getting us going. When we started the printing business we developed a Copy deterrent paper. this was going to be our big thing. But copiers have got cleverer. So lets see how far we can go with the laser.

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## mother

> Mother
> Are you a closet business school lecturer


 Hehehehe. Ian, I don't know if I should feel flattered or if I should shut up now! 

But no I am definitely not ... I teach adults to teach little children, to become clever.

By the way, I was on your website last night, and I saw the copy-proof paper thing, and I thought it was a brilliant idea! I need that in my business, and I'm still gonna pm you about it.

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## rfnel

> And, for those of you who haven't read my blog (http://nevillebailey.wordpress.com), my BHAG is to build up a critical mass of clients that I can support remotely, so that I can get into a mobile home and tour the country aimlessly, whilst continuing to generate income from wherever I might be. 
> 
> So far, 40% of my income is derived from remote support, so I am well on my way to becoming a true nomadic consultant!


In the past, I've also thought about how spectacularly awesome that would be.  Except, instead of a mobile home, my idea involved an 18 wheeler truck outfitted with luxury living quarters and an office in the trailer.  It would cost a pretty penny to keep it on the road though.

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## IanF

Mother be flattered I think it is Socrates method. That really appeals to me, in that you get involved.

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mother (20-Jul-11)

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## mother

Neville and Riaan, I can totally relate to your dreams. Wouldn't it be AWESOME to just travel and sleep where the sun sets! Except, by the time I have my Harley Davidson Limited Edition Heritage Softail, customised for a super laid back chopper-look, and complete with sidecar for the girls, I definitely do NOT want to work anymore, juist cruise!   :Scooter:

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## mother

OH MY GOSH! I just read the explaination you linked to... You mean I speak according to a method? Which mean there's a method to my thought patterns? And that method has a name?????? Holy cow! Seriously, I never knew this... And now you've just set my mind on a course to determine where the heck this comes from...  :Confused: 

Wow, thanks Ian! I feel very flattered now.  :Zyfingerdance:

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## Blurock

I have more or less achieved my BHAG. I wake up naturally in the morning. No alarm - alarm means there is a fire somewhere! No clock radio - who wants to wake up with bad news so early in the morning? Or even worse, rap crap from East Coast Radio (we do not have any choices here in Durban).

I now have my own business (long time dream) and get paid retainers for my services. My time is pretty much my own and I can come and go as I want to. I will never be rich, but I am a free spirit and very comfortable with where I am in life now. 

Shucks! I have just discovered that I will have to keep working to keep the business and maintain this lifestyle!  :Yikes:

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## mother

> Shucks! I have just discovered that I will have to keep working to keep the business and maintain this lifestyle!


Bummer!!! Then I guess it's time for a new BHAG ... gonna have to get rid of that "work" thing that keeps interfering with your time!

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## Blurock

Maybe I'll become a rock star. But I'll still have to do gigs.....  :Taz:

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## Dave A

At a business level, my BHAG is to build a business machine that pays me what I need as minumum and more than what I want as optimum without me being there. In terms of what I want to do with my time when I get there - well, realistically I could do most of that anyway already if I really chose to - so they're not much of a BHAG in themselves, but a great incentive to keep going.

Interesting reading the "potential" BHAG for TFSA. I actually do have one, one that has been in the back of my mind from the outset. We could be getting pretty close to me putting it out there as something for all of us to chase some time soon too.

The site is definitely gaining momentum.
The sense of community is getting stronger and stronger.
We're getting closer and closer to a base where I think we could pull this one off.

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## mother

> I actually do have one, one that has been in the back of my mind from the outset. We could be getting pretty close to me putting it out there as something for all of us to chase some time soon too.


Oh goodie! But you do realize that, if you don't share this one pretty soon, you're inbox is going to overflow with curious PM's... So don't keep us in suspense for too long!

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## Dave A

Oh, let me not keep you in suspense. Before the upgrade in December 2010, the homepage was a little different for visitors than it is currently. Among other things it contained this snippet:




> Some objectives of The Forum SA.
> 
> • A free-to-join site with mostly open-to-view content 
> 
> • Relevant to business owners, executives and managers 
> 
> • A source of information on the consequences and application of legislation affecting business in South Africa 
> 
> • Combines article content and discussion forum, allowing structured presentation of information and interactive exploration of issues
> ...


Which reminds me - between the December 2010 upgrade and the hosting transfer, we actually lost quite a few things that I still need to try to recover one day. I've been holding off until the vB 4 code platform stabilises...

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## mother

Thank goodness! You know, patience is NOT a virtue of mine...  :Wink: 

Wow, Dave, those sound very exciting! But as you mentioned, TFSA is not too far from being able to achieve those. So what is holding you back from "putting it out there to chase"? *Just do it!*  :Big Grin: 

Oh, and then you better start working on something bigger and hairier, you know!

Hehehehe... exciting!

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## murdock

"just do it" this phrase took me from the gutter to where i was to where i am right now...and to where i will be going the week after next.

i had nothing to loose and just made things happen...the problem with getting on top of things again is it becomes more difficult to apply this phrase...why because of the security...you start thinking "but what if" and this phrase will help you loose out on a lot of opitunities

when you loose everything you realise how little money and material things are worth to you...and if you dont take chances you can still loose everything...so if you adopt the attitude "just do it" you can never look back and say i wish i had done that...if you make a mistake...it becomes a lesson for the next challenge.

my ghag...still working on it...it will come to me eventually.

my point...live by this phrase and you will achive great things in life no matter how small they might seem to other people...thanks for reminding me mother.

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## Blurock

Just do it is a good phrase to live by. Parking meters should remind us that we are losing money standing still - or doing nothing. We may all have this dream of one day lying on the beach on a tropical island with hoola girls and pinacoladas - doing nothing. 

The problem is when you do nothing...............you DIE! :Zzzzz:

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## mother

You're welcome Murdock! And I agree with Blurock as well, if you do nothing you die. How often do you hear of people just suddenly literally dying shortly after they retire. That reminds me, I still want to do a blog on what businesses can learn from children... I should swallow my own medicine and just do it, hey?!

Anyway, to add to what Murdock said: I have this "no regrets" philosophy in life, which I suppose sometimes borders on "more balls than brains". But my biggest life lesson I learnt was when I took up skydiving. Every time I jumped out of a plane, I effectively fell to certain death, but I had a choice: choose life and pull the ripcord, or do nothing and become a victim of gravity. And that's how I see life and business as well. You've got to jump out that plane to be able to fly. Then, no matter how much you're enjoying the flight, it won't last forever. And unless you choose to pull the ripcord, you will become a victim who will never fly again.  :Smile:

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## Blurock

Wow mother, you've got balls!  :Rockon:

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## Dave A

> this dream of one day lying on the beach on a tropical island with hoola girls and pinacoladas - doing nothing. 
> 
> The problem is when you do nothing...............you DIE!


I'm sure you will think of something eventually  :Innocent:

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