I just drove from Orlando down to Sebring. I’m attending a business conference this weekend but I flew in early to visit my aunt who is in a nursing home. The first sign to Sebring said 52 miles, after 5 to 10 minutes, the next road sign said 50. I was a bit puzzled but since I got to the hotel at 2am, I thought I was just sleepy and maybe didn’t read the first sign correctly. Then 5 minutes later, the sign said 52 miles. I started laughing. Isn’t life just like that? The sign was telling me I was going backwards, I was losing ground. But I knew I wasn’t lost; I had my GPS with me. The signs on where we are going in life, in our business are so confusing. We get confused by the multiple and misleading input.

So we wonder:

    * Is your perception about where you are going correct?
    * Should I trust others?
    * Am I interpreting the economic conditions correctly?
    * Is my business headed the right direction?

What happens when others tell you that you aren’t making progress? It is confusing! Over the next three blog posts, I’m going to share with you the three things that help you get clear about where you are going and keep you going in spite of the confusion around us.

Remember our definition of a business vision?

A business vision describes your dream. It creates a path to living your ideal life. Your business vision incorporates the proven elements of financial goals, the relationship you want with your customer, and the business that you’re in to make your future clear to you. These three elements that create your business success strategy

You refine your business vision by completing this proven three-step process. So I look forward to sharing with you key information about your business vision in the next three posts.

Today I talk about Financial Goals.

A business vision states your revenue targets. Businesses are profit-driven enterprises. Your stakeholders

or spouse expect you to make money. You want to make money.

You can get clear about your financial and revenue goals but including the following elements into your business vision:

• Revenue targets must be specific. Your business vision is clear when you state your revenue expectations. Example: A small business professional wants revenue billings to grow to $500,000 per year over the next two years.

• Revenue targets must be time-bounded. Your business vision is clear when you document when you’ll achieve

it. There must be a specific time period. Example: A certified public accountant (CPA) wants to increase payroll revenues to 50% of her revenue stream in two years.

• Revenue targets can be stated in growth terms. Your business vision is clear when define your success by how fast you grow. Example: A small business owner will grow her business by 25% each year for the next five years.

Do you need all three of these things in your vision? No, using all three will turn your vision into an academic thesis. Brevity is best. Action is better than documentation. But spend time thinking through a potential response to each item. Then choose at least one that you want to include in your business vision.

What would I like you to do?

1-       Pour out what you want to do into your success journal. Earlier articles shared how to brainstorm on how to create information that can be used to form or redirect your business dream. If you haven’t started a journal yet, start today.

2-       Set-up a time to complete this exercise or update your revenue goals For me, its next Tuesday. I’m back in town on Monday and fly out again on Wednesday.

3-       Don’t worry—your business vision doesn’t need to be shared with those outside of your business. This is your private commitment to yourself.

You might be getting tense right now. Your mind might start arguing with you that doubling your business can’t be done. You may feel stressed by remembering your failed businesses of the past.

So why write down your vision? It documents in black and white what you want. There’s freedom in seeing your goal on paper. It will bring you passion to see your revenue targets achieved so that you can live the dream life you outlined in your success journal.

Why?
 

• Writing down what you want will move you from confusion to clarity Habakkuk 2:2

• Seeing what you want will improve your confidence in your ability to achieve your business dream as God has given us those dreams Daniel 2:28

• Praying about your vision will give let you strength 2 Samuel 22:33 -

Stop and write down what you want financially, spiritually, emotionally as a result of your business. If you need to doodle or draw a picture of your future, do so. If you need to walk around the block and let your thoughts float to the surface, put on your tennis shoes now and head outdoors.

How do I use this process? I got a request this morning. It was a big one. I would need to substantially change my client commitments. I wasn’t perfectly suited for the job and so I got a bit nervous. So I pictured myself with this new contract. I saw different ways that this would allow me to move forward in other areas too. This boost of energy allowed me to brainstorm on better positioning my experience. It gave me energy to send out a quick proposal. No analysis paralysis. No painful self-reflection. Quick action. All I did was follow the process. Write. See. Pray.

Powerful Tip: Small changes can produce big results.
 

The five-step process in your Personal Business Plan will show you how to shake off these negative feelings and move into your future. The five-step personal business plan process is:

1.       Create Your Business Vision

2.       Clarify Your Business Mission

3.       Construct Business Success Factors

4.       Compose Business Results

5.       Compete Business Success Plans

How to Brainstorm Your Business Vision

Your ideal life becomes your real life when your business vision allows you to live how you want. Smell the lei around your neck as you walk off the airplane when take your family to Hawaii . Imagine the sand between your toes on your next beach vacation. Hear the sound of your grandchildren playing around you at your new beach house. Feel the excitement of earning your first million dollars. You’re no longer chasing success; you’ve attained it.

Powerful Business Planning Ah-Hah: Spend time dreaming and imagining what you want

How to Align Your Vision With God

I have just been reading Galatians. Apostle Paul is very clear that his mandate, his vision, his passion was directly from God. It was a revelation. So don’t be discouraged by what others think of you. What does God have for you?

Powerful Business Planning Ah-Hah: Spend time specifically asking God to reveal his special will and purpose for you

Make Your Vision Clear

Start writing down what you want to do:

·          What business are you in?

·          In what market? Be specific here.

·          What is the name of your business?

·          When do you want to do this business? Or change the direction of your business?

So buy a journal or grab something you already have around your office or house. Make it fun by writing “Success Journal” on the front of it.  Grab your success journal, sit in a comfy place and complete the following exercise.

Create a journal entry that says “Business Vision”

Answer the following question

·          What do you imagine your future to be on a personal basis?

·          What do you imagine your business to be – answer the four questions above

·          Don’t read any further until you’ve written 2–5 sentences on what your life will be like as a direct result of your business.

·          If you need to doodle or draw a picture of your future, do so. If you need to walk around the block and let your thoughts float to the surface, do so.

Powerful Business Planning Ah-Hah: Writing Your Vision Helps Make It Happen

Next I’ll be sharing on how to accelerate your success in writing your vision.

- Build a moneymaking system
- Gain exponentially bigger business results
- Increase your influence by working on “Brand You”
- Attract clients and increase revenue
- Think bigger for bigger profits

I’m starting a blog series that will help you build these things, with integrity, in faith, and with Christian friends who share your values and maybe even share your tears.

I hope this series is for you.  I’ll be notifying you of key information you need to know by email. Sign up if you haven’t already. 

Maybe you prefer Facebook for notification of how Christian Women Can Build Better Businesses. Follow me on Facebook .

Do you like an RSS feed? Click the orange dice icon at the bottom of this page if you want to be notified that way.

Looking forward to talking to you!

Step Into Your Future:
A Businesswoman’s
(and Businessman’s) Path to Profits
Teleseminar Series

The Proven Roadmap For Business Owners to Create Focus in Their Day-To-Day Planning…

Join Rosemary Regier-Hossenlopp in a life-changing teleseminar.

Create a Powerful Business Success Plan!

                July 20
                at 8 pm EDT/5 pm PDT

                Call 1-218-862-7200 / 684904

Master Business Strategist Reveals Powerful Planning Methods that will make planning your business so clear that will want to run around the block with excitement when you see how to focus on key actions needed to grow your business.

This teleseminar will map out a small business action plan — unique to your business — step by step. You will see where you are right now and figure out how to move your business forward. You will make more money and still have time left over to get some sleep at night.

The Powerful Business Action Plan will create:

A clear business vision and strategy

Improved focus for better results

Opportunities and possibilities that open doors instead of close them

Techniques to spend your time wisely – on activities that produce results

A bigger game in your field of expertise

Better clients, repeat business, more profit

A simple business plan that you will actually use

P.S. What will you solve by taking this teleseminar?

You will read Rosemary’s 5 critical how to’s:

How to Unlock your money making system

How to Receive exponentially greater business results

How to Increase your influence by working on Brand You

How to Attract the ideal clients for increased revenue

How to Realize big profits from tiny changes in thinking

P.P.S. Still More?

You will get these powerful planning tips from an entrepreneur, to an entrepreneur:

The 5 Must-Do Components of Business Planning

Take a Pop-Quiz!  Are you getting the results you deserve from your actions?

An easy checklist for creating your custom Action Plan

Numerous Power Planning strategy tips you can use immediately for results

I look forward to meeting you on this teleseminar!

Rosemary

Rosemary Regier-Hossenlopp, MBA

I started chuckling to myself. I had a smile from inside my belly. I had a laugh that was shining through my eyes? Why? God is so funny. God used this person to bring to mind that I can’t have any pride about wonderful recognition or the great things that God will accomplish through this book. Note: I apologize to my pastor for not listening to his sermon while I was recovering from this kick in the pants.

Success Principle Number 5: Have a Vision that Serves Others

This principal illustrates that serving others is a key principal of dreaming big dreams. Self-centered pride in thinking about what you can accomplish isn’t a vision that attracts God’s attention.

Here is any easy way to do have a Vision that dreams Big: Include in your Vision statement how you want to help your clients and your community. What you want to accomplish in your business must be so big that you can’t accomplish it in your own strength. If you can run your business without God’s help, your dream is not big enough.

Remember Goliath and David in the Old Testament? Goliath just wanted to humiliate his competition so he could go back to watching afternoon soap operas. David wanted Goliath’s head as an encouragement to his peers on the battle field and a declaration to the next generation that God is a Mighty God. David had a Big Vision. Goliath had a small vision. David had an other-people focused vision. Goliath had a self-focused vision.

Service of others is a pride buster. Think of this next time you get kicked in the pants. You exist to serve others. Your clients don’t exist to serve you. Humility and humor create favor with God and cause other people to be attracted to you. When you get rid of pride, God will see to it that his grace will open the windows and doors of opportunities for profitable service of others.

Rosemary Regier-Hossenlopp

The key to making those fingers fly on your computer keyboard is to know your purpose. What? But you know why you are in business. You need to pay those bills on the counter. But is this really your purpose? Effectively defining your purpose is the key that makes your life vibrant. This is what makes you so passionate about what you are doing that clients call you instead of you calling them.

The connection between the heart and the head is only 12 inches. Well maybe in the 60’s when women teased their hair it was 15 inches. But back to my point; getting that connection between the head and heart working is a critical issue for business women.

Principle Number 3: Be a Women of Purpose
Purpose is defined as the knowing the reason that we exist. You live a purposeful life when you know your desired results and your goals. This means you know what you want.

The Power Of Your Business Purpose

• Your business purpose summarizes your system for making money in your business.
• For authors this is making book writing and marketing a system. This requires understanding what makes books fly off book shelves.
• For consultants this means being recognized by your clients as the expert in your field.
• For small business owners this means attracting and converting prospects into long-term customers.
• For women in Multi Level Marketing (MLM) this means you know how many sales calls you need to make on a weekly basis to sign-up new customers and new associates to build your down line.

These are great business goals but they tend to be analytical and from the head. We all want money to pay the bills but studies show that women are also deeply passionate about deeper issues. Your heart issues are captured when you write down your personal purpose.

The Power Of Your Personal Purpose

Your personal purpose summarizes why you want to make money in your business. Here are some examples.
• You need to save money to get your kids to college.
• You need to make some money so you can wiggle your toes in the sand at your favorite beach house to help you survive until your kids are in college.
• To want money so you can dig into your purse for charities. I know a woman who states “she lives to give” . . . and takes money.

Your personal purpose is deeply personal. You become a powerful woman when you connect both your business and personal purpose. This is where head meets heart. For example, you might be want to be recognized as the industry expert so you can increase your consulting rates by 15% this year to allow you to increase your contributions to a charity. You now engage your mind and heart in figuring out how to achieve increased exposure for your products and services so you can:
• help your clients
• help your bank balance
• impact your community.

There is energy in the synergy of combining head and heart, and your personal and business purpose.
Which one of these combination’s work for you? Which connection between your business and personal purpose turns you into a world changers?

Let me know!