Have you got a Compelling Future ?

Where will you be in 3 years time and is it a Compelling Future?

“If you don’t know where you want to be in 3 years, then you are already there”. -Brad Sugars.

We all have a ‘default future’ which is the one we will have if we just carry on as normal. The question to ask yourself is “Is this as good as it gets” or is there a greater, more compelling future.

What does this mean for our businesses? First, it means that if we don’t have a vision of our business, then we’ll continue facing the same problems as we are today. We’ll continue to be overwhelmed by our business - struggling to make money and struggling to find time for ourselves. Second, the sad reality is that most people do not plan for their future. That means that most of our competitors are not planning either. Making a plan for our business gives us a unique competitive advantage.

Writing down a vision for your business can be a transformational exercise. When you write down what you want from the future, you are doing the most important type of work. You are committing to improving your life and the lives of those around you. Further, you are rewiring your brain. Dr. Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at the Dominican University of California found that people are 42% more likely to achieve their goals and dreams, simply by writing them down and reviewing on a regular basis.

Creating a vision for your business is a 3-step process. The first is to establish a purpose for your business. Second is to vividly imagine what your business will look like in 3 years. A time horizon longer than 3 years may feel intangible. Finally, you need to connect that future with your present, so you can develop action steps to work towards that vision.

Developing a vision will take time and multiple revisions and you will need to involve your family and friends for personal goals and your team for the business goals. When you start this exercise aim to set goals that have significance to you rather than just short term survival goals or tasks. Remember, when reviewing your goals think if you can achieve them with existing skills, knowledge and resources. If the answer is yes, then these are probably just tasks and you should stretch yourself more. If they are tasks, then you can go ahead and do them. 

But you can still get started today. Below is a short 30-minute exercise to start creating a vision for your future.

(STOP! Before you read on, grab a pen and paper now and work through the exercise as you read it. 99% of people will continue reading this and never end up doing the exercise. Take the 30 minutes to go through this exercise. It will be the most valuable 30 minutes you’ve spent on your business this month.)

Step 1: Write the purpose of your business

What is the purpose of your business? The ‘why’ behind it? Is it to give you enough resources to raise a family? Is it to deliver a product or service that you deeply believe in? Is it to give you financial freedom?

Most business owners do not have a clear purpose behind their business. They run through the motions. Identifying this purpose will give you tremendous clarity on how to plan for your business’ future.

Step 2: Write your 3-year business vision

Based on your purpose, imagine what your business looks like 3 years from now. For example, if the purpose of the business is to give you financial freedom, then you may want to think about how much profit you want to be making. You may also want to think about creating a business that can run without too much time investment from your side.

To help you get started, simply answer the following 4 questions:

• How much money are you making from your business? (both turnover and profit)
• What much time do you spend per week on your business?
• Who are your customers?
• Who are your employees?

There may be other parameters you want to use, in which case you can use the simple but effective ‘3 year wheel chart’.

Step 3: Connect your vision to the present – ‘Feel the Future’

For each of the above questions, write down your business vision, 1 and 2 years from now. For example, if you want to make ￡ 1 million in 3 years and you currently make ￡ 300,000, then a 1-year target might be ￡500,000 and a 2-year target might be ￡800,000. Get specific.

You may have gotten nervous as you wrote down your 1-year target. The closer we set deadlines to the present, the more anxious we feel about our goals. It's good to feel a combination of excitement and nervousness. This is normal. Humans are designed to fear change. If you set your goals too far ahead or they make you more anxious than excited then focus on the habits, routines and systems you need to put in place to start work on the goals. You might want to read the work of James Clear on this topic.

By simply doing this exercise for 30 minutes, you are ahead of 99% of business owners out there. The next step will be to break down your targets into 6-month goals and then think about what needs to change for those 6-month goals to become reality. As you continue working on this document, you will gain greater clarity and control on your business. We will talk about this more in an upcoming post. For practical purposes you should at least have a 3 year view, a 1 year plan and break this down into 90 Day action plans which you regularly review.

But for now, feel proud that you’ve taken an important step in making changes. You have answered the question, “Where will you be in 3 years?” Can anything be more important?

If you would like to hear first hand about this topic and the process behind building a business that could work without you then join us at Excel in London on October 19th to hear Brad Sugars. He’s a world class speaker and educator and one of the founders of the current global business coaching field.

The ActionCoach tour is coming to London on October 19th so you can hear from Brad Sugar’s and how he has improved, built and sold over 50 businesses worldwide. He’ll teach you about the importance of planning and taking action to get results.

Below you’ll find a 2 minute video full of views from other business owners taken at last years’ event and a link to the event site.

Video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Koz5CJiwfx8&feature=youtu.be

 Event site : https://www.actioncoachevents.com/coaching-events/finish-it/     

(Booking code is CMRPE)

If that date doesn't suit you then join me on October 18th at the Natwest offices in Luton for our workshop and meet like minded business owners.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/make-your-business-work-so-you-dont-have-to-luton-tickets-3705852805

Whatever your future looks like, ask yourself is it a compelling one and are you prepared to learn, change and take focused action to get the results you really want.

If you would like to know more about this subject and how I can support you then get in touch at [email protected] or 07913092897.

My website is www.infinitibusinesscoaching.com

I’d be interested in hearing how you got on with the exercise.

Best regards

Richard