Turning your vision into Reality: The Unvarnished Truth About the Business Owner’s Journey
A vision is an incredible thing, and the journey of a business owner turning that vision into reality is exhilarating and scary. It pulls you out of bed on days when you’d rather stay under the duvet. It is your north star, guiding your decision-making and creating momentum in our business.
Your vision, what you aspire to be or do (along with your mission), fulfils your why (or purpose, as it’s sometimes called). And because you’re continually evolving, growing and, dare I say it, ageing, your ‘why’ will change.
Throw in an ever-changing environment and new working methods you will try, test and perhaps embrace. There will be twists and turns, ups and downs, and at times, it will feel uncontrollable.
Therefore, your vision will evolve.
It will morph and change because of everything I have said so far, as it did for my client, whom I recently spoke with to review our time together. Her coaching package had come to an end, and I asked her to explain how she felt when she arrived at my door.
Overwhelmed, yes, busy absolutely and feeling out of control. She had been an octopus pulling in this and that, trying and having a go at everything.
I would describe her as an intrepid explorer. She had learned to use different platforms and tried different marketing and business methods. She had got stuck in and played with products and ideas, working it out as she went. It had been an exciting and fabulous journey, resulting in her achieving her vision to leave her job, set up a business, and make it work. But what next?
She had fulfilled her business yet, but she no longer felt in control of it. There were many pieces to her puzzle, and she was now unsure which pieces would take her to the next level. She was uncertain what the next stage or chapter in her business looked like and was not sure of the vision. This was causing her to worry about what to do and what to do first.
Does this sound familiar? Did you begin your journey into entrepreneurship and become a business owner for greater flexibility, more time, and money? To be in control of your own destiny? Only to feel lost, busy doing, burning the midnight oil, and craving time to develop and grow your business? You are not alone. Someone recently told me, ‘They felt poorer as a business owner than when employed,’ referring to time and money.
The Unvarnished Truth About the Business Owner’s Journey
“I will have more time and money and be in control of my own fortune. It will be easy (actually, no business owner has ever said that), and it will be fun (you might have said that). I’ll have more time to spend with my family and loved ones. I can practice yoga in the mornings, start going to the gym, or run in the evenings.”
It is a rosy picture of being an entrepreneur or business owner, but then it doesn’t pan out like that. You find yourself busy, which doesn’t always equal success.
Suddenly, you are the finance director and the marketing and sales managers. You are responsible for lead generation, customer care, and IT. You are making the coffee and, in between, hanging the washing out, emptying the dishwasher, and walking the dog. Throw in your friends and family knocking on the door to say hello because you work from home, so you’re obviously free, your time is squeezed some more.
Family knocking on the door aside.
You are now in charge of leading your business towards success. But with information hitting you from all directions and every one an expert on what you need and should be doing, it’s no surprise that success, the early picture you had, can get lost.
Like my client, who had made a fabulous impression of an octopus. However, she knew this approach wouldn’t take her to the next level or open up her next business chapter. Knew that something had to change, particularly because her health and well-being were suffering.
She was ready to do it differently. She was ready to align, streamline, and automate to gain back the time she craved for developing and growing the business. So, she might achieve consistent income and time for being creative and, most importantly, for self-care—all the things she thought she was going to get when she started this journey. She was ready for a new vision.
So, how do you smooth out this journey?
Time, or rather a lack of it, is another reason clients land on my door. They know that without creating the time they need, they will stay busy, which causes frustration and sometimes stress. This puts a huge amount of pressure on business owners who are doing all the things but not achieving the results. This often occurs because they have lost sight of their vision. Their why has changed and they are not in alignment.
So, step one is to really understand and get super clear on what your next level or next chapter is for you. What you want success to look and feel like – your vision – and this must go deeper than ‘more money’. By ‘connecting’ with what really matters, what you really desire and the transformation you want your clients to achieve. Clarity of how you want to influence the world and stand out as the expert in your field. What you want to be known for – the difference that you want to make. Only then can you start to design a business aligned with your new vision. Ensuring that you don’t keep doing the same old and hoping for a different result.
The next step is what I call the Business MOT, which my clients experience when working with me. It is a session in which I support them in looking at the business from top to bottom. We celebrate what is working, highlight what can be improved, and discuss how they can operate more efficiently. We align their business model with their vision. My role is then to ensure they act upon decisions made and bridge the gap between where they are and where they need to be.
Okay, it’s not quite that easy. I also help them align their mindset with their vision because mindset is everything. I hold their hand, cheer them on and help them bravely act upon their decisions.
And that’s why clients come to me.
Because they’re looking for help and guidance. They want someone in their corner to let them know they’re on the right track and help them through the ups and downs. I help them keep their vision in mind in all that they do, every decision they make, and every action they take. They seek accountability to ensure they stay focused on the activities that will have the most significant impact on their business. And I help them avoid distractions and stay out of overwhelm.
You don’t have to take this journey on your own, and it’s way easier and more fun with someone by your side. If you’d like to explore how working with me would benefit you and your business, I invite you to book a discovery call.