What is the VISION FOR YOUR BUSINESS?
When you see yourself and your business a little more than a year down the road, the end of 2021, what do you want to see?
A big office with a gorgeous view, a happy and engaged staff, doing important work changing the lives and/or businesses of your clients?
Traveling the world, working from anywhere, with clients who clamor for your work?
Working with a small but passionate-about-their-work group of solo business owners. Sitting on the deck of a cottage on a Lake Ontario, working with clients virtually, and near enough to a vibrant community to be able to network and work in person as well. (yep, that one’s me)
What about you?
Some questions to consider:
- Who do you want to be working with? What are primary characteristics of your ideal client? E.g. demographics of a certain type of business or person.
- Where do you see yourself working? In an office or studio? Out of your home, outside, travelling to clients, or a combination of these?
- What do you envision being the services and/or products that your clients/customers most seek out or most benefit from? What do you most enjoy developing and providing?
- How do you see yourself letting people know about the wonderful services/products you are providing? What resonates with them (and you)?
- In this vision, how are the people helping you with your business interacting with each other? Consider your work partners, employees, advisors, contractors, and/or board.
- What does your ideal workweek look like? Workday?
- What do you envision being your ideal monthly or annual income? Just picture the numbers in your bank account growing!
- How are you expressing your unique gifts to the world?
- What else comes to your mind specifically about the way you want your work to be in this vision?
MOST IMPORTANTLY: When you consider these aspects of your vision and your business – what is your LIFE like? When you reach this vision – how will you feel?
GOAL SETTING TIME!
Now, let’s come up with your overall goals for the year. Just a few. Enough to feel achievable. Not so many that it’s overwhelming.
Begin with your work goals. One to two maximum. It may be:
- An income goal,
- A certain number of clients
- Working only with a certain category of client
- Completely different work space
- Increasing your staff to cover various roles in the business
- What else?
Now for your life.
Have you ever heard of a misogi? It’s an ancient Japanese ritual for one big thing you put on your calendar to achieve that will define your year. Working toward the achievement of your misogi benefits the other 364 days of the year. Think of something that requires hard work, preparation or that will make you feel super alive. It’s one thing you work toward all year that makes everything else better, including your work.
For me, it’s climbing the equivalent of Mount Everest, 29029 feet, on a big beautiful ski hill in Vermont in October, 2021. (A postponement from this year where instead I hiked/walked for 20 hours within a 36 hour period, resulting in 48 miles hiked and 107,000 steps taken in a day and ½.)
What is your misogi? Do you have a bucket list item you would like to achieve? Learning a language, running a marathon, developing a skill, creating something beautiful? Your choice. Just make it meaningful to you.
When you accomplish your misogi, you will feel unstoppable, in your life and business.
