Want to create an aligned business? Do this first.
To me, a business is not just about building a business that makes money, but it's about building a sustainable business, the overall long term results and being able to use your business as ‘a vehicle’ to have the freedom to live the life that you want. Whatever this freedom looks like.
“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognised by yourself as a mighty one.”
Maybe you want to spend more time with or have to care for your family, stay home more for your kids or travel more. And it doesn't really matter what the reason is (I mean off course it matter but not in regards to this point) that you started your business. But it's that you create a business that can really help you support the kind of life that you want to live.
So this is a business that is aligned with who you are and your goals, a business that is sustainable in a way that it’s not only built for the long run but also that if you are not there for a couple of days everything just keeps going and a business that is not overwhelming you because you have a very clear direction; live your live on your terms.
To me, I see a business more as a vehicle to support your live rather than as being the end goal. And don’t get me wrong, I love my business and what I do, I could not imagine going back to a corporate career. So it’s not just a business to make money, not at all. But if you can start from having your life vision and creating a through-line to your business it will really help you to create a business that is aligned with your life and who you are
And this is where a vision board of your ideal life comes in.
So in this blog, I will break this up into three different sections:
Why do you need a vision board?
How does this relate to your business?
How to create a vision board.
Why do you need a vision board?
So you've probably heard about this. When you write down your goals, it will make it more likely to reach them.But when you think about images, it goes even a step further.
There has been done a lot of research that shows that we are able to remember images better than text. This is called the picture superiority; effect in recognition memory tasks refers to the observation that items studied as pictures are better remembered than items studied as words, even when targets are presented as words during the testing phase.
This is why a vision board can be so powerful.
But it’s important to understand that it isn't just cutting and pasting some images on the board. It is actually a really great way to decide what you want to achieve in your life. Because when you start to sit down and think about creating your vision board, you really need to sit down and think about all these goals before you can go and search for the images.
So it will really help you decide what you want to achieve in life, the intentions that you want to set and the goals that you want to reach.
And it depends a little bit, how you would create your board because you can do it on Pinterest or with other online tools but especially when you create an actual board and hang it in a place where you see it often it can be a daily reminder what you’re working towards. And it can also be a tool to help you create a positive mindset because you are intentionally working towards living your life and living it with a purpose.
So of course, you need to put in the work, it's not something that you just cut out random images, paste them on a board, and then never look to it. But once you have it, it can really be powerful.
But how does this relate to your business?
How your vision board impacts your business
So you've probably heard that you need to decide "the why" for your business. And as a business strategist, this is something that I talk about with all of my clients, as it's one of the first steps that we need to decide before we can build your business.
But what I see happen with a lot of business owners is that they are struggling with the reason they started their business because a lot of times it's money, I mean, you have bills to pay. Or if you want to travel, you need to have the money to do that.
And this is where they get stuck because money really sounds like a selfish reason rather than it being something that is client-focused because that's what it's supposed to be right?
So when I am working with my clients, I divide this up into two different steps:
step 1
Why did you start your business for yourself?
What did you want to create for yourself? And what does it mean to you?
So let's go back to the earlier examples, maybe you want to travel. You want to have more time to actually travel instead of having the 10/20 days that you would have when you work for a boss. With your own business, you can have more time to travel. So that's one part of the why.
step 2
And then, on the other hand, you have the why did you start this specific business? Why is it a product-based business or a service-based business or why this specific service or why these types of clients that you're working with?
But then I came across this quote from Simon Sinek.
“It all starts from the inside out. And it all starts with Why. As a business, you need to know what, how and why. Money is not a why, it is a result”
And this is where really a light bulb moment went off. When you think of that your business starts with a why, it really comes from the inside out. But money is not a ‘Why’ it is a result.
So if you look at it like this, you can probably see how this can help you run a business that is more aligned with who you are. As it ties your individual purpose to the reason why you created your business with your business purpose to make money. And your 'Why" is your vision that will drive your goals which, in turn, will drive your actions.
Related posts:
How brand clarity will help you grow your business
How to turn your vision into actionable goals
What happens if you don't have a clear vision?
As mentioned above, your why or vision will drive your goals, which will drive your actions.
So if you have no clear vision, what are you going to base your goals on?
Without goals, how do you know what to focus on?
And without focus, how will you make sure your business will be a success?
And without it succeeding, how will you get the freedom you've been looking for?
But before setting any goals for yourself, you really need to be crystal clear about your ideal life.
And it's even so that business experts make a case that purpose is the key to exceptional performance, while psychologists describe it as the pathway to greater well being. Doctors have even found that people with purpose in their lives are less prone to disease.
When you can see your business as a vehicle rather than the end goal, it's easier to take a holistic view of your business and your personal life and how these two tie together and impact each other.
So if you break it up this way, it's okay that you started your business for yourself. That is a selfish reason, but it doesn't have to impact why you do the business that you do for your clients. Yes, the one impacts the other, but you don't have to feel selfish.
How do you actually create that vision board?
How far you want to take this is completely up to you. The one above something I have created in Canva using mostly my own pictures and it reflects what is important to me. But it only looks at some of the mayor visions I have. If you want to be more detailed you can break it up into sections. There are nine sections that are commonly used when creating vision boards.
Health
Love and relationships
Career
Life
Birth
Family
Skills
Knowledge
Self-improvement
So when you look at all of these sections:
Write down the goals that you want to achieve
What you would have and what you would see when you are living these goals?
Search for pictures and images that represent these goals and/or your overall desired future.
So you can do this on Pinterest, or search images from different websites and import them into your Canva and create a collage or grab magazines, cut the images out, and really stick them on to a board which you can put on your desk or somewhere in your office or the room that you work in to have it as a daily reminder.
And if imaging this vision is something that you're struggling with, you can ask yourself these questions;
To me, success looks like… and then fill in the blank.
What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?
What would you do if money wasn't an issue?
So there you have it, the first step to take when you want to create a business that is more aligned.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. How do you feel about your business? Does it feel easy or is it a constant struggle? Comment below and share your story.
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