Owning your own business is one of the most amazing ways to get what you want. As long as you understand how the game is played, you get to choose things like where you live and work, what kind of work you do, who you work with, when you work. And oh yes, you get paid for it if you do it well.

Over the years I’ve cataloged 22 different kinds of things things people want from running their companies. Only four are primarily focused on money. Seven focus on emotions or values, five on lifestye, three on community or people, and two are mostly related to the future.

Have you ever described in detail what you want from your company? If you do there’s a better chance you’ll build your company in a way that helps you get it. Yes, there are times when the choices are mutually exclusive. But knowing what you want makes it easier to choose.

Sharp readers will notice one the numbers don’t add up to 22. The missing one is “company growth” and it’s really a stand-in for all the other things you want.

Takeaways:

• Knowing what you want makes it easier to get it.
• Partnerships can get into trouble when what each partner wants requires them to grow the company in incompatible ways.