We’ve done things most small businesses never get to do.

We’ve learned and embedded our purpose, niche, values, and many operational efficiencies, and much of this was revealed in two facilitated days

But, one thing remained, that we didn’t manage to figure out for years!

Our Core Target.

What we had done already

At the Top Left Design, we follow the EOS System. EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) is a system that helps entrepreneurs and business leaders implement a system to achieve business success and growth.

It’s based on a book called Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman.

We were lucky to work with Julia Langkhraer, EOS implementer and friend of TLD.

We began with two full-day sessions, Vision and Focus. We managed to conclude many of the definitions and decisions that we stick to even today, nearly a decade later.

Vision for Top Left Design

During Vision Day, we focused on gaining a deep understanding of our purpose and how it aligns with our mission and values. We explored our long-term vision and goals, ensuring that they reflect our aspirations for the future of Top Left Design.

We succeeded in many aspects, including:

Core Values

1. Teach & Learn
2. Efficient, Effective & Reliable
3. Caring & Helpful
4. Enthusiastic & Energetic

Below is an image explaining a bit more about these:

Then we also ran sessions to define the following:

Purpose/Cause/Passion Revealing unique greatness through design and communication

Niche Bespoke design & knowledge share

Target Market: SMEs that are proud of their business, appreciative, value good service and quality design, ready for change and have a message to share.

Differentiators:

1. Translating your personality and ethos
2. Supporting you through the process
3. Giving you the results you are proud of

Proven Process: TLD Journey Guarantee: We promise we will not implement until you are 100% happy with the design

Focus for Top Left Design

In the Focus session on the EOS system, the following topics were covered:

• IDS: identifying and prioritizing core issues and obstacles
• Scorecard: Setting and tracking goals and metrics
• Rocks and To Dos: Establishing priorities and action steps
• L10: Implementing a weekly meeting pulse
• Accountability: Implementing an accountability chart
• Establishing a meeting rhythm: Quarterlies, Annuals, and weekly L10s

What did we miss?

We had trouble with the “BHAG” because as a small business, with realistic expectations and 20 years in a decidedly non-scaleable business model, we struggled with the typical language.

For example:

“Be the leading WordPress website creators in the UK”

Well, we don’t have the time to be the biggest, and we don’t only do websites, and we don’t only use WordPress.

“Make X (large number) in profit by 2030”

This too is unrealistic because of our working style, size, and the bespoke nature of our services.

Similarly, we didn’t quite get the Core Target – which inspired this article.

At the time of writing, we decided to crack this in our weekly “IDS” (Identify, Discuss, Solve)

We used Notion’s inbuilt AI tool as an additional team member.

First, the definition:

In the EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) system, the Core Target refers to the definition of the organisation’s long-term vision and goals. It encompasses the purpose, mission, values, and long-term objectives of the company. The Core Target provides clarity and alignment for the entire organisation, guiding decision-making and driving the company towards its desired future state.

Then, we asked for 10 ideas for Top Left Design’s Core Target (based on the information we’d plugged in all about us)

1. To become the leading provider of bespoke WordPress websites in the UK.
2. To create visually stunning and highly functional websites that exceed client expectations.
3. To consistently deliver exceptional customer service and support throughout the website design process.
4. To establish long-term partnerships with clients and become their go-to agency for all their digital marketing needs.
5. To continuously innovate and stay ahead of industry trends in web design and development.
6. To expand our services and offer a comprehensive range of digital marketing solutions.
7. To foster a collaborative and inclusive work environment that attracts and retains top talent in the industry.
8. To actively contribute to the success and growth of our clients’ businesses through our expertise and services.
9. To build a strong reputation for excellence and reliability in the web design industry.
10. To achieve sustainable and profitable growth while maintaining the highest standards of quality and professionalism.

Oh, we liked many of these!

So we asked Notion’s inbuilt AI tool to choose a sentence out of our favourites, which were 2, 3, 4, 8, and 9.

A combination sentence

Top Left Design aims to create visually stunning and highly functional websites that exceed client expectations. They consistently deliver exceptional customer service and support throughout the website design process. Their goal is to establish long-term partnerships with clients and become their go-to agency for all their digital marketing needs. They actively contribute to the success and growth of their client’s businesses through their expertise and services, building a strong reputation for excellence and reliability in the web design industry.

Well, that was a bit of a mouthful so we decided to ask it to come up with some taglines.

Tagline options that were returned:

1. Visually stunning websites that drive results.
2. Exceptional customer service, and exceptional websites.
3. Building long-term partnerships through design.
4. Excellence and reliability in every website.
5. Growing businesses through stunning web design.
6. Creating reputations with exceptional websites.
7. Your business, our commitment to success
8. Sustainable growth through exceptional design.

None of these said to us it could be the full story. And we know we do more than websites!

So, we added “through design and communication” which if you were paying attention comes from Purpose/Cause/Passion.

So we asked it to break the combination sentence, which was a bit of a mouthful, into a list which is now our “7 Step Manifesto” – and added a combination of the tagline choices above.

Behold – Top Left Design’s core focus!

Committing to the success of our clients through design and communication.

🔥 Create visually appealing and highly functional websites

🚀 Deliver exceptional customer service

👥 Establish long-term partnerships with clients

🌟 Actively contribute to the success of clients’ businesses

🌈 Build a strong reputation for excellence and reliability

💼 Achieve sustainable and profitable growth

Once again, the purpose of this is to come up with something we all agree on. The Core Target must ecompass the purpose, mission, values, and long-term objectives of the company.

It needs to provide clarity and alignment for TLD, guiding decision-making and driving our company towards the desired future state.

So, we feel we’ve succeeded, and gave our L10 meeting a 9.9 out of 10!

Let us know if you too use EOS, and whether you’ve worked out your Core Target.

How do you figure things out as a team?