Do you have a vision for your business?
Without vision, we waste a lot of time and money because we go after almost every opportunity when they're really just distractions. Creating a vision for your business will keep you on track and accomplishing your goals.
Why do you need a vision for your business?
As the leader of your quilt shop, you need to provide a vision for your business and employees. It will bring unity and drive, and loyalty to your quilt shop.
If you don't know where you're going, how do you know when you're actually going to get there? A vision provides the clarity needed to reach your goals. It gives direction and inspiration to everyone you work with. It won’t inspire others to follow your lead if it doesn't inspire you.
Write Your Vision Story
I recommend to all my clients that they write their vision down. It’s called a vision story.
To get started, think about your why. Why did you start a business? Why is it important to you? In his best-selling book, Start With Why Simon Sinek describes how most ordinary companies talk about what they do and how they do it. But extraordinarily successful businesses clearly state why they do what they do.
Existing to make money is not enough of a why to inspire others. People want to feel a sense of significance and a sense of greater purpose; then, they will buy from and associate with your company.
Make Your Vision Specific
When writing your vision story, don’t worry about how you will accomplish it. You’ll figure out how to get it done later. The first step is to write it down.
Don’t hold yourself back thinking your dream is impossible or improbable. If people didn’t have impossible dreams, we’d still be traveling by horse and buggy! We wouldn’t have the internet either.
Make your vision story specific. The more specific, the more likely you’ll achieve your vision. Here are the five things you’ll want to describe:
Your company culture
How many employees and what their qualities are
Your products and services and how they impact your customers
Your financial position, revenues, how much you pay yourself and employees
Your role in the company, what your day-to-day looks like, and what kind of lifestyle you’re living
Share Your Vision
Once you’ve written your inspiring vision story, share it with your stakeholders, customers, employees, and vendors.
Use your vision to guide all your decisions. Sharing it will ensure your employees understand the company’s vision and their role in making it happen. When deciding on a company investment or new product, ask yourself, “does this work for my vision or against it?”
And most of all, read your vision story often, so it continues to inspire you.