3 steps to creating a vision for your business

The idea of creating a business vision is not new. Many business owners start their business with a vision and some even create a strategy to achieve it. However, the reality is that many business owners fail achieve the results they want and that's usually because they fail to take the action necessary to make it happen.

Follow these 3 steps to creating a business vision that actually motivates you to take action! Tamsen Garrie (@tamsengarrie) is a business owner and author of the book 'The Act of Attraction In Business', which shows business owners how to align their activity to achieve the business results they want Firstly, a vision is very simply a picture in the imagination and it's usually a long-term view of the future. In a business context, it is an image of how the business owner wants the business to look in the future and so it provides the direction of the business. It includes the core values that drive the ethos and culture of the business and it forms the basis of the strategy and all activity going forward, providing a framework within which all decisions are made. An effective business vision is one that inspires and motivates the people in the business to take action! If it doesn't do that, then it is of little use.

Step 1: Define your intent

Your Intent is about the 'what'. It's about desire. In other words, it's about 'what' you 'want'. It's about knowing what you want your business to be like. It's about defining what you want to achieve specifically and it's about clarifying the kind of work you want to be doing and with whom. It's also about deciding where you want to work from, both in terms of environment and location.

Step 2: Define your purpose

Purpose is about the 'why'. It's about your reason. In other words the 'reason' you are in business. Your 'why' stems from your personal values (the things that are important to you) and because of that, it is your deepest driving force. It's about what your intent means to you and specifically what achieving it will enable for you (and for those you care about).

Step 3: Make it tangible

Once you have defined your intent and purpose, you have the basis of a vision. However, you want your vision to exist as reality at some point in the future, which means that it needs to inspire and motivate you to take the kind of action that will make it so. The key to this is making it 'tangible'. What I mean by that is creating a tangible version of your vision, so that it exists in some form, outside of your head. Think of creating a tangible vision as literally creating your future history. In other words, creating the outcome as if it exists right now. The reason for this is that when your vision exists in some form other than in your imagination, your beliefs, thoughts, feelings and importantly, your actions become aligned with it, and you are more likely to make it happen!

What's your vision?

Do you have a vision for your business? Have you ever created a 'mood board' or a scrapbook as a first step towards that vision? If so, let us know! Leave a comment below