Create Your Vision Plan

How many times are we going to hear the battle of the business plan?  Have one, don’t have one, have one, don’t have one  — enough already.  We can all agree that a business plan is more suited for those looking for loans and investors in which they must prove (on paper) that their business idea and venture will be successful and profitable (sometime in the future). We can also agree that writing a business plan is no easy feat either.  Aside from the summaries and appendices, there’s those awful charts and figures, attached documents of research or studies and the artful agility of compiling it all together.  NOT!

Anyone familiar with the expression ‘begin with the end in mind‘?  This is the idea that you have to visualize where you want to be in order to get there.  And it applies to all business at all levels and all stages.  So ask yourself where do you see your business, where do you want it go?  And don’t be modest about it either, be honest, be bold.  Do you want to turn your sole-proprietorship into a multi-billion dollar earning revenue corporation?  Say so!  Or in this case, write so!

A vision plan is the written expression of exactly how you see your business at it’s most optimal state.  Think of all the stories of famous companies and CEOs that started from their basements or kitchen tables.  Do you think they planed on staying in their basements and kitchens for another 20 years?  Yeah, that’s the point.  Write it out in detail, I’m talking excruciating details, how-many-nails-in-building details.  Perhaps, that’s a little much, but you get the point.  Let yourself really explore where you see your company taking off to.   How many departments will your company have and what are their functions?  Where is the corporate office located, how many employees does it house, are there branches and/or satellite offices?  Get down into the nitty gritty!  Why?  Because these details are only for you, only for your eyes.  No one else has to read or see it (unless you want them to).  The objective here is to create a master plan for your business.   A vision plan.  This your vision for your company.  You can even take it a step further and name the people in your organization, their job title, and department they work in.  At any time, you can change or add details as you start to explore this idea  more.  After all, it’s your vision.  You know it better than anyone.  Oh, and don’t forget about including company culture, the environment in which you and your employees will work in.  See it, feel it, visualize it.  There are no numbers or projections required, no noting of competitors and market share gain.  The only thing you have to factor in is time.  The more detail you are with your vision plan, the more time it will take.  But what is a few hours or days when you’re outlining your future?

 

 

{photo credit: jannoon028 via freedigitalphotos.net}