It’s great that you’ve got a vision for your business. You’re really clear about where you’re going and what you want to achieve. (If you haven’t you want to go here for 4 steps to create your business vision first, then come back here).

Without a plan though, how are you going to get there? That’s why it’s crucial to have a plan to bring your vision to life.

plan to bring your vision to life

Pin to your Business Planning or Strategy Board https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/244320348521477450

Think of it like a map to get to the top of the mountain. You know which mountain you’re wanting to get to the top of. You know you can do it, with the right equipment, the right support team, and nourishment along the way. What your next step is once you’ve decided on the vision (mountain top), is to work out the plan (route map).

Make sense?

If you’ve ever mapped a route for a walk to the top of a mountain, or hill, or along a canal, or even from one side of the park to the other ensuring you either avoid the children’s swings, or have to include them, you’ll know that there’s many different options available to you. There may be some routes quicker than others. Some tried and tested routes. Some scenic routes. Some routes you may need more equipment for than others. Each one will have it’s pros and cons. You may have a route you prefer – someone you trust has done it that way.

You may not have all the equipment (think skills and knowledge too here in the analogy) at the moment to go one route, and that may be part of the preparation or planning phase. But until you’ve done your mapping and planning you won’t know which route is the one right for you right now.

Why you need a plan to bring your vision to life

  1. Without a plan you don’t know if you have the necessary equipment, skills or training to bring your vision to life. Planning helps to identify the steps you need to take to achieve your vision
  2. A plan creates steps for you and your team to take to achieve the vision. Without the plan, your team may have a different idea of the direction you want to go, even if they understand the vision
  3. The plan brings the vision closer, and helps you put everything in place to achieve your goal. You may need to bring in more resources, or you may need some training, or you know you need to buy more raw materials before you can create the new products. The plan makes it clear.
  4. A plan identifies who does what. Even if there’s only you at the moment, if you know that at point X you need to get Y done, you can start to ask around as to who can help you. There’s no point getting to point X and having to wait to find someone. You can spend your time wisely on the way to point X, sourcing someone to help you with Y.
  5. A vision will remain only a vision unless you take action. The plan will give you a list of actions to take to get to the vision.

Your plan doesn’t need to be lengthy, or even too detailed at this stage. I highly recommend you have one. You may find that some paths are muddy, or more difficult than you expected once you’re on your way, but the fact that you’re already closer to your vision when you find this out, helps you work out the next steps, or different path you need to take to get there.

How will you create your plan to bring your vision to life?

Let me know in the comments below how you’ll create your plan to bring your vision to life.

If you need help creating your plan, or understanding how to create your business plan to bring your vision to life, do the 5 day Get off the Blocks Business Challenge and get our support to create what you need for the next ‘mountain’ you’d like to climb.