When I was younger I went through a bit of a “free-spirited/live in the moment” phase. Everything I did was based on what interest me in the moment and if it “felt right”. I have always been a huge dreamer but my thoughts were often all over the place. I didn’t have any set goals in mind, I was easily discouraged and well…I failed…more than once. While I am still not a huge fan of the traditional business plan, really getting clear on what I ultimately want from this online space and taking the time to develop it’s vision has helped me to create actionable goals, serve as my motivation to keep pushing when times are rough and is used as my visual accountability partner.
“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”
Starting a new business or even growing an existing one comes with a lot of responsibilities and expectations. But there is no way you can move forward and set goals for the future if you don’t start off with a clear vision. Your vision is basically what success looks like to you and it’s a clear idea of how you ultimately want to build your brand & live your life. It’s your space to dream big as if anything is possible and like I mentioned before what will keep you focused and motivated during those hard moments.
If you’re a big dreamer like myself, most will say that you’re being unrealistic but you have to remember that although some things in your life you may not have control over, you are ultimately the only one who can determine what you want to accomplish.
I’m a firm believer in “speaking things into existence” and manifesting what you want in life AND in business. Yes, it may sound a little “woo-woo” but trust me when I say that it works. In fact, twice a year I create a vision board for my personal life and business and it feels AMAZING to look back and see how much of it I have accomplished! The only way you will be able to really bring your vision to life is if you get it out of your head and begin believing that it will happen.
When creating your vision, you’ll want to get clear on every aspect of your brand. How will you feel, what will you enjoy doing, what do you want to accomplish, the types of people you’ll collaborate with and maybe even your ultimate money goals. Get as specific as possible about what you want. Describe things down to the color or the precise feeling if that helps. The more specific, the easier it will be to create long and short term goals and the more you will genuinely feel like things are happening!
So how do you create your vision?
shift your mindset.
A huge factor that plays into writing your vision is believing that your dreams are actually possible. Meaning you’ll have to eliminate any negative words or thoughts that surround your dreams and begin to speak positively about you brand. That means removing phrases like “I can’t” from your vocabulary or constantly complaining about what ISN’T going right. Sometimes that may also mean eliminating certain toxic people from your life or saying “no” a little more than often. You need an insane amount of unwavering faith and truly believe that what you want is more than just something you tend to daydream about!
write it down.
Now it’s time for you to sit down and put your vision on paper. I’ve also created a helpful guide for you to download to get started! Although you may not be telling the world about all of the things you want to do just yet, writing down your vision is the first step to putting it out into the universe and holding yourself accountable to make it happen.
TAKE ACTION: Give yourself 30 minutes of undistracted time alone to write your vision. During this time here’s what you’ll want to focus on:
- Your Emotions. Get specific about how you want to feel on a daily basis. What will you be doing that will make you the happiest? What will you do that will constantly give you that butterfly feeling in your stomach? Your emotions are by far the most important part of creating your vision, if you’re not achieving the level of happiness that you desire then all of the physical and monetary goals will be pointless.
- What You Feel Called To Do. We all have a greater purpose, whether that be using our gifts to mentor young adults or teaching creatives how to grow their brand. What part of your vision will help you get closer to your purpose or what you feel called to do? How will you best serve your audience?
- Your Accomplishments. What large and small goals will you have accomplished? Is there a certain award or recognition that you want receive? Do you want to reach a certain amount of pageviews or be featured in your favorite magazine? What about your perfect work day, will you be spending it by the pool with a drink in hand? You are already a BOSS so think of all of the amazing BOSS moves you will be making within your business!
- Future Expansion. Where do you see your business in the next few years? What can you add on to expand your reach and your income? What new products will you have created or what new market will you have tapped into? Do you own an online shop that you want to turn into an actual brick-and-mortar? Do you want to hire an entire team to help you with your daily activities?
Remember to be as specific as possible and to really pour your heart out into what you want to happen in your business. When I write my vision, I find it easier to write as if all of the things I want to happen have already been accomplished and I’m just recapping it all. Seriously, there is no dream too big or too small! Write as if the possibilities are endless!
You cant move forward and set goals for the future if you don’t start off with a clear vision.
set small goals.
Now that you have you’ve shifted your mindset and have your vision in place, it’s time to take some steps towards making it happen! Look over the things you want to accomplish and the different business ventures and products you want to create and begin thinking up some smaller goals that will get you closer to your dreams. For example, if apart of your vision includes reaching 100,000 monthly pageviews on your site, then think about all the ways you can increase your pageviews starting where you are now and set a goal to maybe increase it by a 1,000 every month. Or if your vision is to own your own restaurant, then plan to take some cooking or business classes that you will be able to apply towards that dream.
One thing to remember when you’re setting goals is that not all of this will happen over night, which is why I recommend setting several small goals rather than one big large one from the start! Also keep in mind that although actually believing that your vision is going to come to life is a huge part of this whole thing, you HAVE to put in the work behind it as well! My mom always tells me that “You have to give God something to work with”. So don’t sit back and relax thinking it will all just fall into your lap one day!
