Why Every Woman In Business Needs A Vision (And How To Create Yours)

If you know me, you know I’m a practical, down-to-earth kind of girl. I don’t teach fluff and guff. So when I tell you that you need a business vision, you need a business vision.

I can hear you thinking, oh here we go, this sounds a bit woo woo. But honestly? This is probably the most important thing you’ll ever do for your business. And it’s not about sticking motivational quotes on your fridge (although if that’s your thing, crack on).

What’s A Business Vision And Why Should You Care?

A business vision gets you up in the morning. It gets you through the bad days. It makes you negativity-proof. It gives you direction, and you always know why you’re doing this.

So when you’ve had a crappy customer, or the kids are driving you insane, or you’re wondering why on earth you thought running a business was a good idea – you look at your business vision and think: this is why I’m doing this. Calm down. This is why I’m doing this.

What Happens When You Don’t Have One

Before The Girls Mean Business, I had a couple of businesses that both closed down. I didn’t have any direction or a vision for either of them. And the biggest reason why many women business owners never build the business they want is exactly this – they don’t have a vision.

They set up in business knowing they wanted control over their life and to earn a living doing something they love. But they don’t think much further ahead than just covering the bills every month.

Pretty soon they’re so overloaded and overwhelmed with work and clients and family that they just plough on with their heads down. They’re usually really busy with hardly a moment to spare, but they’re always short of cash and there are never enough hours in the day.

Sound familiar? You are not alone.

What Changes When You DO Have A Vision

When I set up The Girls Mean Business, I did things differently. I was really clear about what I wanted – how I wanted it to work for me, how it would fit around my life, what I wanted to earn, who I wanted to help.

And guess what? I created the business I wanted. I created the money I wanted. Because I knew exactly what I needed to do, for whom, and by when.

There’s a great quote by Muhammad Ali: “Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill and the will, but the will must be stronger than the skill.”

What he’s saying is you don’t have to be the best at what you do to be successful. It’s about having that powerful vision and determination to succeed. And that is wonderful news because it means any of us can be successful.

How To Start Creating Yours

Here are the questions I want you to answer – honestly and specifically:

• Why are you running your own business? What’s it all about?
• What do you want out of it? Financially and otherwise?
• Who do you want to help? If you could work with one kind of person all day, who would that be?
• What are your big numbers? Sales targets, how many people you want to work with, how many hours you want to be working – and by when?
• What does success look like to you? Not what your family thinks or your friends think. What does it look like to you?

Be specific. Being vague doesn’t achieve anything. You can’t work with vagaries. The more detail you put in, the easier it is to plan to make it happen.

My 5-Year Vision That Came True In Half The Time

Five years ago, I was in a bad place. My marketing agency had gone under, I owed £20,000 to the tax office, and my confidence was rock bottom.

But I sat down and wrote out what I wanted. A house in the country with land and a river. Somewhere for my husband’s business. Room for my daughter. A dog (we were in rented so I couldn’t have one). And a business that let me help people while being there for my family.

I got that house two and a half years early. Not because everything went smoothly – believe me, it didn’t. But because I was focused. I had milestones. I knew where I was going.

Without those big targets and business objectives, you’re just pootling. You’re coasting aimlessly. Head down, busy busy. And who has got time and energy to waste?

So grab a piece of paper and start writing. It all starts there. And if you want help doing it properly, Big Girl Knickers starts on Monday 20th April – and this is exactly the kind of thing we work on together.