If you asked 10 different business owners what ‘success’ means to them – they would give you 10 different answers! And yet, it is the question I love asking the most because it makes people scratch their heads and think!!! Defining your version of success is part of creating your business vision.
Having a fulfilling business that is free from complexity, overwork, and overwhelm starts with having a Big Picture Vision.
Actually, I think it is the single most important thing you can do for your business when you want to be laser focused on what matters most. That’s why it’s the very first thing I do with every client I work with, and it’s the first component of the G+R+O=W Equation.
In fact, one of my very first workshops was something I called “Vision 4 Success” and it’s one of the most important activities you can spend your precious time thinking about!!!
Not having a crystal clear Big Picture Vision is a critical mistake too many entrepreneurs make and it’s the main reason they find themselves overwhelmed and overworked.
This is the year to dream bigger and make your vision and goals a reality. Here is what I’ll cover:
- What is a vision (and it’s not a vision statement)
- The three critical components of your vision
- The difference between a good vision and a great one
- What a Big Picture Vision is and why you need one
- Why you don’t want to create a vision from where you are today
- What to do if you struggle with future casting
What is a Vision
A Big Picture Vision is different from your vision statement or your business’ values and mission. It is a vivid mental image of what you want your business to be at some point in the future. Fundamentally, it is how you want your business to look, feel and perform in the future!
This vision acts as your guide for the decisions you make and the actions you take and makes it easy to know what to say ‘no’ to when something isn’t in alignment (it helps with simplification, setting boundaries, delegating, etc.)
When you start with the end in mind and have a clear vision that is filled with passion and purpose, it makes it easier to stay focused on the things that matter most.
Three critical components of your vision
1. Your Business
Ask yourself these questions and give yourself permission to dream BIG when thinking about what you want for your business without allowing any limiting beliefs to hold you back.
- What does the future look like for your business?
- What do you want to be known for?
- What do you help your clients achieve?
- What are you the go-to business for?
- What is your business model?
- What are your offers?
- How do you help people?
- What is your pricing structure?
2. Your Lifestyle
As an entrepreneur, your life and business are very intertwined, so it is critical to not only look at your business but to also think about your personal lifestyle goals as well.
- What do you want your lifestyle to be?
- Where do you want to live?
- How much do you want to work?
- What role do you play in your business?
- What is your zone of genius?
- How does your zone of genius evolve?
- What are your health and wellness goals?
3. Your Customer
Without customers, you don’t have a business, yet your customers are often overlooked and a critical component of a good vision.
- When looking to the future, what are your customers’ lives like?
- Who are your customers of the future?
- What kind of people are you looking to work with?
- What is the business model for your customers ten years down the road?
- Do you work in a niche market?
- Does your customer grow and ascend along with your business?
A good vision includes these 3 components; however a great vision also considers the next level of success including:
- Thinking and mindset (at the CEO level or the Legacy level)
- Future business and life of both you and your customers
It is created from the place of your future self, business, and customer.
What is a Big Picture Vision and Why You Need One?
A Big Picture Vision means thinking at the next level when creating your vision.
If you create your vision from the person and mindset of today, you create your vision with today’s constraints and limiting beliefs which makes it much harder to dream big and truly see what’s possible.
You want to put yourself into the mindset of your future self, as well as imagining the types of decisions you and your clients will be making at that point in the future.
Future Casting
If you struggle with thinking from the place of your future self, there is an activity that you can do that can be really helpful to get into the right mindset.
Start by looking back 10 years ago to recognize and appreciate how much you were able to achieve, grow, and evolve in the past decade. I bet there are many things you have in place today that may have never even imagined, or not thought possible.
Here are a few questions you can ask yourself, looking back 10 years (or however far back you want to look).
- How much has your business transformed since you first had the idea for it?
- How much have you evolved in your role as a business leader?
- How has your customer / target market evolved?
- How has your team evolved?
- What are some of your biggest successes that would have surprised 10-years-ago-you?
Leverage the recognition of the incredible transformation you have experienced so far to imagine what’s possible in the next 10 years (or however far into the future you want to look).
- What could be possible for you in the next 10 years?
- What is the next level for you, your business, and your customer and what does each do different from today?
- What did the10-year-wiser version of yourself have to do to get there – what limited beliefs and mindset changes were needed, how did the business model have to evolve, how did your role as the leader of your business evolve, grow and scale.
- Then take that long-term 10-year vision and break it down into a vision for the next year and ask yourself similar questions.
- Define what needed to happen to get you from where you are today to where you will be 1 year from today.
- How does your mindset evolve?
- How does your leadership evolve?
- How do you grow personally?
- What decisions do you make to better serve your clients?
- What do you change about your habits and routines?
Creating an effective Big Picture Vision is as much about dreaming big as it is about the strategy you will need to implement and make it a reality. Take the time to ask yourself the questions now so you can create the ultimate business and life you want.
Have you established your Big Picture Vision as well as your vision for this year yet? If not – want some fun help???
Friday morning, January 14th, I’m going to do a live training on this exact topic!!
Join me on zoom at 10 am!!!
Zoom link – https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8717484261
Your black and white booklet is attached here. Simply print it double-sided and have it ready for the workshop!
Bring your coffee and coloured pens, pencils, etc. and you’ll leave with your Big Picture Vision Booklet!!!
Can’t wait to see you then!
YOU CAN DO THIS
Diana
