Does Your Vision Grow Your Business

We all know about creating a vision and mission statement as part of doing a business plan, and we have probably all done it. Yet how many have put it aside as they became focused on the business of running their business and trying to keep ahead of the competition. So much time and energy is taken up with the hard realities of business life that your vision can become a nice ideal which does not easily fit into your daily routine. Yet a true compelling vision is the lifeblood of your business and can fulfil many vital functions for you.

Your business vision answers the question, Why does this business exist? Without knowing that answer you are in danger of losing your inspiration, passion and enthusiasm, and survival of the business can become your main driving force. People tend to enter business for three broad reasons:

1. They have a product they want to bring it to the world, or a skill they want to use in their own way.

2. They want a lifestyle of prosperity, freedom and being in charge of their destiny, which they believe
a business will provide.

3. They have a passion for a particular service or cause and a business provides the structure to
fulfil that.

Very few people enter business because of the excitement of running a business for its own sake. Their skill, product or service is what excites them but then they find themselves immersed in the demands and challenges of running a business. That can feel confusing and overwhelming, especially with the need to keep educating and upskilling yourself just to stay afloat.

Your business vision is your lifeline back to the energy, self belief and passion you probably had when you started it. A very powerful thing to do is to read it through every day and spend just five minutes visualising it being fulfilled. Get in touch with how that feels because that feeling is the rocket fuel to propel you forward, and give you the strength to meet all your challenges.

A vision that is kept alive also brings clarity and focus to your business. It is so tempting to grab opportunities as they come along. Sometimes they work out well and often they do not. Think about the opportunities you grabbed that seemed great at the time but which turned out to be a millstone around your neck. If your primary focus is survival and expansion at all costs then you may weaken your disce
ment and make choices you live to regret.

When an opportunity presents itself you can instead test it against the standard and the focus your vision embodies. Decide whether it is aligned with your vision, and if it is not then will you have the discipline to stay true to your vision? By doing this you can still bring all your business acumen and knowledge into the decision, but you complement this with the integrity of your intention and purpose. You run your business as well as you ever did but you keep fulfilling yourself because you keep bringing your vision into manifestation.

One ancient scripture has the saying, “without vision the people perish.” A vision draws out the best of you. It is the voice of your true self and carries the seeds of the legacy you will leave behind on this earth. So do whatever you can to bring your vision alive and make it alive for all your business colleagues and staff. And make sure it is compelling. When we are compelled by someone or something then we have no choice. It is the same with this, which is a paradox. We always have choice but when you have a compelling vision it can feel you have no choice. You know you have to bring this into existence or else something deep and precious will be stillbo
within you. You choose to have no choice.

I have discovered that when I share a compelling vision it inspires those whom it touches. That is good business sense because we now operate in a highly disce
ing marketplace where core positive values strongly influence the buying habits of consumers. If your product or service meets their needs, and they are inspired by your vision, then you have a real edge over any competition that lacks such an inspiring vision. Share your vision with potential customers and business colleagues, and do so with energy and passion.

Entrepreneurs are a unique breed and embody many qualities that raise them above the mediocre average. When you regularly enliven and share your vision you take those qualities to a new level and even the toughest challenges can become stepping stones to an expanded and fulfilled life. I salute all you entrepreneurs and encourage you to be the best you can be every day.