Keep Your Vision Alive

Many small business owners start with such passion, they’re all gung-ho and hard-working, but after a few challenges and disappointment, they begin to lose sight of their business vision.  The long hours become shorter and filled with distractions.  The business starts to peter out. In order to prevent this from happening to you, it is essential to keep your vision alive.

The most important step in keeping your vision alive is to start with a clear vision in the first place. If you haven’t already, try sitting down and writing a clear vision statement, for your business and yourself. Think about why you started your business, and what you hope to achieve.

While it’s important to have a vision statement, you have to keep it in mind if you’re going to actually achieve it. Having an idea of what you want doesn’t really matter if you throw it in a drawer and only think about it once every six months. Post it somewhere in your office or have it written down where you will see it regularly.

Craft a Picture of Your Vision

Even better than having the words posted is to have a “vision” of it posted. You’ve heard “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Well, why not use this to your advantage? Find pictures that make you think of what you want and what your goals are in life, and post them in places you’ll see. If may be posters around your office or even just your computer desktop. They’ll serve as a constant reminder of what you’re working for.

Tips to Empower Your Business Vision

To keep your vision going, it’s vital that your work reflects your vision. That means not only working towards your goals, but associating with people who feel the same. Sure, you’re not always going to be able to choose who you work with, but you can still try to make business contacts who have similar vision and beliefs as you. These people will help you stick to what you want and become successful.

It’s a generally accepted fact that if you’re surrounded by negative people, you’ll probably start thinking negatively eventually. Attitude is something that permeates to the people around us. To help keep your vision on track, surround yourself not only with positive people, but with those that share your vision, or a similar one. They will help keep you on track when you get discouraged.

If you’re having trouble focusing on your vision statement, maybe it’s not you that needs help, maybe it’s just your vision. You are not the same person you were when you opened your business, so why is your vision statement the same? If your vision statement doesn’t reflect what you want anymore, considering reviewing and revising it. Just be sure not to do it too often, or you’ll find yourself going from focus to focus without actually accomplishing anything.

What’s most important is not to lose faith in yourself and your business. Great businessmen aren’t the ones who have never failed, they’re the ones who failed and kept on going.

Sean McCarthy is a Certified Business Coach and the Founder of Loveland, CO -based Colorado Coaching Company.  Coaching can take place in person, over the phone or online. If you need help growing your business, shifting your mindset, call or email Sean at (970) 541-1099 or[email protected] to schedule your initial strategy session.