Good News! Business Planning is Fun Again!
Business planning is crucial if you want your business to be successful. It doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming, though. With the proper tools, business planning can be enjoyable and beneficial. As a solopreneur or small team, creating a business plan gives you the chance to think big and plan strategically.
Your business plan is an important part of your business. It should be updated regularly to reflect the changing landscape of your business and industry. When you have the right business planning tools, such as a vision board or business road map, you can easily make changes and adjust your goals to ensure success.
Creating a business plan is like building a vision for success – it’s about setting goals, identifying risks, and preparing for the future. By taking the time to create a business plan, you’ll be able to stay focused and on track when it comes to achieving business success.
“Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.”– Francis Chan
There are different ways to make a business plan. This is a plan for how your business will work. You can use a document or spreadsheet. You can use business planning software, or you can create a business plan on your own.
No matter how you create your business plan, make sure that it is clear, concise and achievable. Your business plan should be written in a way that makes it easy to understand so that anyone can review it quickly and comprehend what is being proposed.
Business planning isn’t just about the business. It’s also about you and your team, your customers, and the industry you’re in. Understanding these elements of business planning can help make it easier to create a plan that works for your business.
Or you can be creative and use a vision board. Vision boards are great business planning tools, because they allow you to visualize your business goals and ideas and get inspired.
“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe.”– Anatole France
No matter which business planning approach you choose, make sure that your goals are realistic and that you can stick to the timeline. Doing this will help keep you motivated and help your business be successful.
It is important to have a plan for your business, but it does not have to be difficult. With the right tools and a positive attitude, creating a business plan can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience.
Have you heard about vision boards? They are a great new way to plan your business. With a vision board, business planning is no longer a tedious chore; it’s an interactive and creative experience.
Both business plans and vision boards are key elements in achieving business success. Taking the time to create a business plan will help you focus on reaching business goals and becoming successful. By using different tools such as vision boards, business planning can be fun and rewarding. With realistic goals and timelines, you’ll be able to stay motivated and on track when it comes to achieving business success.
Create a business plan that aligns with your core values and goals. Vision boards allow you to visualize success, set powerful intentions, and think outside the box. You can also add inspiring images, affirmations, and aspirations to your business plan. This is a great way to keep yourself motivated and stay focused on achieving your business goals.
Business planning is an important step in any business venture – whether you’re launching a business or expanding it. With a vision board, business planning is fun, interactive, and inspiring. Plus, it makes goal-setting easier because you can see your progress.
When you think of a business plan, you probably think of pages of text and graphs and boring stats and numbers. You know, the kind of thing you’d nervously push across the desk to a bank officer in the hope of securing a loan.
For people like me (a data geek) I love the stats and numbers, but many of my clients cringe at the thought of having to piece together that kind of stiff, formal business plan. Luckily, I have better tools—and so do you!
The Traditional Business Plan That Isn’t Fun
Although business plans have been the go-to for years, they might not be right for everyone. Planning is still key, but a formal document isn’t always necessary. more and more solopreneurs are realizing that small businesses can succeed without an expansive plan.
This is about business planning tools that make business planning something to look forward to. A vision board business plan not only allows you the opportunity to tap into your creative side but also sets strong intentions and helps keep you on track for success.
It’s a fun way to develop your business plan by visualizing your goals, objectives, and success metrics in an organized way. It allows you to think outside the box and come up with new ideas that will help your business grow.
Plus, a vision board business plan is easier to understand and digest than traditional business plans; you can easily make changes and adjust your goals to ensure success. So forget about boring business plans—you don’t need them anymore.
What if you could plan your business with fun, colorful photos, and inspirational quotes and phrases instead? What would that do for your daily motivation?
Well, that’s exactly what a vision board will do for you. By collecting images that represent your dreams and aspirations, you’ll have a constant reminder of where it is you’re going, and even why you started your business in the first place. Maybe you want to spend more time with your kids as they’re growing up, or have enough money to finally take that holiday to Europe. What about that house you’ve always dreamed of owning, or the lives of the people you want to help?
Your dreams, your why, are mission-critical for business success. They provide the drive and motivation you need to persevere in business. These things are what will become powerful elements of your branding and marketing.
None of these things will find a place in a traditional business plan, but they’re perfect for your vision board. More importantly, they’re critical to your long-term success. Without your dreams, it’s nearly impossible to remain focused and on track when it comes to business growth, but with these reminders, it’s easy.
Why Vision Boards Work?
“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.”– Henry David Thoreau
Does all this feel pretty airy-fairy to you? You’re not alone. Lots of us were raised to believe that business had to be all about numbers and stats and that there was no room for fun when it comes to making money.
I completely disagree!
Some of the most successful people in the world routinely use vision boards to help clarify their dreams and keep their goals front of mind. And that’s precisely why vision boards work so well. They allow you to easily see exactly what it is you’re working toward.
By keeping visual reminders within sight, you’re constantly aware of your “why,” and that’s a powerful motivator, no matter what you’re working on. If I asked you to create a vision board today, would you?
You might be excited at the thought of being creative, or you could be looking at your phone hoping it will ring rather than creating a vision board. Let me share with you some simple steps to guide you, and I will let the results speak for themselves.
How to Create a Vision Board for Your Business?
Choose your format
Are you going digital or hardcopy? Digital creations can be made in Word, Publisher, Slides, Docs or (my personal favorite) Canva. If you’re going hardcopy, choose a poster board, corkboard or anything else that calls out to you.
Gather your business visions and goals
Now it’s time for the fun part! Gather material that sparks joy within you—anything from inspirational quotes and business-related images to goal-setting and business-planning tips. The sky’s the limit here—your board is yours to design.
Ask yourself some Business Planning questions
Think about how you want your business to look, feel, and operate. Consider things like your ideal workspace, your team (or the team you want to grow), your products/services, your brand, how you want to feel every day at work, how you want your customers to feel, what impact you want to make and why…
Find business Inspiration
This is where the fun starts! Find business images, quotes, and phrases that speak to you. These could be business-related or even life-related. The main thing here is for these words and images to inspire you and make you feel like anything is possible.
Choose your format
Are you going digital or hardcopy? Digital creations can be made in Word, Publisher, Slides, Docs or (my personal favorite) Canva.
Organise your vision board
Once you have all the business-related elements gathered, it’s time to start organising your vision board. Consider things like color schemes, positioning of images and words, or use of effects to emphasize certain points.
Make adjustments to your Vision Board as needed
Once you have your business vision board in place, don’t forget to review it regularly and make adjustments as needed.
Vision boards are a great tool to help business owners stay focused on their goals and keep their business dreams alive. By having tangible visuals of what you’re working toward, it becomes easier to stay on track and motivated in the pursuit of business success.
Collect your Vision Board images
Now start collecting images, quotes, colours, and words that demonstrate all of the things you want your business to be from the answers you have. Try not to be too literal with your choices. Think outside the box. Try to deliberately avoid images that are exactly what you do. If you are a Yogi – don’t use any Yoga images. If you are a personal trainer – don’t use any gym images. Try to explore the emotions, feelings, and impressions you want to make rather than being obvious. By banning the use of obvious choices, you will create something much more meaningful.
Create your Business Vision Board
Arrange your images and words with some decorative elements that will add to the experience of your Vision Board.
If you are creating a hard copy vision board, think about the use of fabric, fauna, craft supplies, and hand-drawn elements that will add great depth.
If you are creating a digital creation, think about adding texture and subtle colour themes. Pay attention to where the light is coming from and use shadows or gradients to create depth.
Use your business Vision Board regularly.
Once you have completed your business vision board, place it somewhere that will remind you every day of what it is you want to achieve. Take time every day to contemplate the meaning and purpose of the business vision board and keep it up-to-date by adding new elements as needed.
A business Vision Board can be a powerful tool that will help bring clarity, focus, and motivation to your business planning. If you’re serious about business growth, you owe it to yourself to create a business vision board and use it regularly.
Remember – this is not about being perfect, it is about being honest and vulnerable.
“Hold the vision, trust the process.” – Unknown
You can create a business Vision Board with just one image or you could cover an entire wall, it’s entirely up to you. Allow yourself this creative space and see where the business vision board takes your business.
Of course, no bank is going to accept your vision board as proof of viability and give you a loan based on it. You will need a traditional business plan for that. But when it comes to clarifying your dreams, pinpointing your real goals, and getting excited about your business again, you just can’t beat a personal, colorful vision board. Give it a try. You might just surprise yourself!
