A vision for your business

By : Fiona Powell

Do you have a vision for your business? Or is your business more a fly by the seat of your pants kind of venture?

Maybe now is a good time to take stock and ask yourself where is my business heading?

That’s why a business vision is vital. Having a vision for your business means you have a clear picture in your mind of what you want your business to become so you can work towards making that visualisation a reality.

Without a vision for your business you could find yourself jumping from one project to another with no focus, clarity or purpose. As the saying goes, “if you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up some where else”.

A vision is essentially a written picture of what your business will look like in say, three or four years time. Business gurus widely acknowledge the power of writing down your vision, because the process of expressing and then committing the thoughts swirling around in your head onto paper sharpens your sub-conscious mind like an arrow heading for its target. A vision answers the question, “why does my business exist?” A vision is also the starting point for creating your business plan, and plotting your goals and strategies.

Creating your vision requires quiet thinking time and a journal to brainstorm and record your thoughts. Transport yourself into the future and imagine you’re looking at your business through a stranger’s eyes. Where is your office? How many employees are there? What products and services do you offer? In what countries do you operate? What is your turnover and profit? Who are your customers?

There are no boundaries or limits to your vision – this is your creation. Dream big. Don’t question your vision by asking “how could this possibly happen?”, just focus on transcribing the picture you imagine.

Write about one page describing your business of the future with lots of detail so if any one else read your vision they would also be able to clearly visualise your future business.

Sharing your vision with your employees and family is a good idea so they can understand what you are wanting to create, the direction you envisage for your business and the part they could play in supporting you to make this happen.

Once you have your vision recorded, you can begin to set some goals that will step you closer to achieving your vision. Your goals answer your “how am I going to achieve this vision” question. For example if your vision included operating your business globally, one goal could be setting up your Sydney office.
Set about six business goals to work towards and these could be balanced across the operations, marketing and financial areas of your business.

Once you’ve achieved one goal, replace it with another that moves you closer again towards your vision. For example once you’ve set up the Sydney office, the next goal could be setting up the Singapore office or appointing a Singapore-based area manager.

Goals are usually a stretch to achieve and involve lots of things to happen. Break your goals down into smaller action steps – things you have to do step by step to achieve your goal. For example opening an office in Sydney inspires a long ‘to do’ list; finding office space, employing an area manager, opening a bank account and so on.

Frame your vision and hang it up where you can see it every day and be reminded of where you want your business to be. Record your six goals in a journal, one per page – these goals stay the same until you’ve achieved them and replaced them with another goal. Beside each goal, list a series of action steps. The actions will change regularly as you achieve them, review them and update them with new things to do to achieve each goal.

Part of your vision could be a personal vision for yourself. Where do you see yourself in three years? What will your role be in your business? How many holidays a year will you be taking? What hours will you work? What will your income be? What other commitments will you have eg. voluntary work. Where will you be living? Who will be your advisors and strategic alliances? You can even broaden your personal vision out of the realms of your business to include your health (eg I can jog two kilometers without stopping) and your relationships (eg. My partner and I have a ‘date night’ once a week).

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