Why your Vision Matters
I talk a lot about your Business Identity and how it helps you with making business decisions. Who you are and what you’re about are hugely important factors to understand about yourself and your business. They are the crux of what makes you, you. What problem you’re solving for others, how you’re helping and why people should choose you. But I think, ultimately, the most actionable part of your Business Identity is your Vision - where you’re going.
People are always asking where you see yourself in 3 years, 5 years or 10 years; and I used to be one of them. But post-pandemic, I don’t necessarily think that’s the best way to think about it. We know now, or at least even more so, how quickly things can change. I think a better way to look at your vision is to assess what your business would look like in a perfect world. If you could have anything you wanted, be doing anything you’d like, spending your time doing whatever would make you happiest - what does that look like? That is your vision. That’s truly what you’re striving for. And you don’t necessarily need to give it a timeline yet. Just brainstorm what your business would look like if you had every single thing you wanted. Start there first.
NOW, you can take that picture and break it down. What can you do today, this week, this month, this quarter, this year, to make that happen? NOW you can set goals for yourself and give yourself a timeline. OK this month my focus is X. In three months I want to have accomplished this. In six months I want to have this certification. In one year I want to be running two educational webinars a week and have them be full to capacity. Whatever it is that will make true progress towards that overall vision. But that’s the piece - once you have your vision, you can figure out how to get there one step at a time.
The idea is not to look at the big picture and get overwhelmed. Instead, you now know where you’re heading, and you can take a bite-sized, manageable approach to make it happen. Small steps feel good. Small steps feel achievable. Small steps lead to big steps. Big steps lead to real change. So start taking the small steps.
