As part of the series for Essential Components of a Personal Brand Business, the topic that we should start off with is VISION. I Introduced this topic of ‘building blocks’ in Episode 26 of the Podcast and will continue that theme by breaking it down for you further in this and future episodes. 

Vision or Dream?

So..What’s the difference between dream and vision? Aren’t they basically the same thing?

Dream and vision are not the same thing.

A dream is a more lofty idea you have in your head without a lot of details. I’d like to retire and live in a more southern state where it’s warmer and have a decent retirement income from my business, or the sale of my business. No details. Exciting, but painless.   

A vision is a dream solidified. Take your dream and attach a strategy. Now add the goals and tactics you’ll need to perform the strategy. Now you have a vision. You see, Dreams are nice. But a vision is work. A lot of work.  

So let’s talk about goals for a bit- because part of the strategy is having goals

What’s the short or long term goal you have for the next year? For the next 5-10 years? Is it even possible to set detailed goals that far out? Well, I think you should. 

You have to have something to shoot for so you’re not being blown around by the winds of change or shiny object syndrome. 

Now, I get it, plans do change and the situation all around you may change. But you need to have some sort of a non moving target as a goal to at least keep you in the right direction. 

So… again, what’s your 1 year goal? Is it reachable? Does it stretch your abilities? Or are you playing it safe? I’m a lover of books and keep reading and learning new things. And that’s great for me because it gives me more opportunity to help people in different ways.  

So maybe there’s something new you could learn and discover for yourself that would improve your chances of success or help to inspire you to launch a successful business?

Are you thinking too small? Don’t you think you could accomplish more if you just had bigger goals? Don’t be afraid to think big and dream big. It’s much easier to think small and dream small. 

It feels safer and less stressful, doesn’t it? But big things aren’t accomplished by people that think small. Big things are accomplished by people that think big.  

Or, are you thinking too big? Now why would I say that after I just challenged you to think big? Not trying to be confusing here, but thinking too big can be a problem as well, right? I wouldn’t say that it would be even close to reality if I said I wanted to be the next Steve Jobs, or Bill Gates. Right? Let’s think and dream big but keep it real.  

 So, where do you want to go and how will you get there? Do you have a roadmap? Or a formula? If you need help with doing a mind map, I recommend www.mindmeister.com 

I don’t have any financial connection to them, I just think they’re the best at what they do. I’ve had a lot of success with using their website services. 

Do you have a vision for your business? Is it based on some solid research, or just a personal desire to do what you want to do? Do you have a long term vision? Are you allowing yourself to dream big? 

Does it make you uncomfortable to dream big? Do you know how to dream big? Because a lot of us haven’t had direct, personal examples of either parents or other family members that we can point to and learn from in this area. 

A lot of us, I would say, probably most of us need to learn how to dream big and the parameters of thinking big. 

So, beyond thinking big, what kind of business do you want to have? I specialize in the personal brand online sort of business, but maybe you’ve got something else in mind? 

Maybe you want to have an actual brick and mortar business? If so, good for you. I tried my hand at that many years ago and don’t think I’ll do that again, but there’s a lot of people that are really into having that kind of business. 

But if you’re not looking for a brick and mortar type business and you want to be able to make money online, then what does that look like for you? What’s it going to be? Products, services, or both? What kind of products? Physical products? E-products? Digital downloads? What kind of services? 1:1 type services, or some other dynamic? 

I’ve been advising others to do as much variety of income generation as possible. You can offer 1:1 services where you get paid directly for your services, or, if possible, offer the same service to a group at a time. 

For example, I was talking to a successful author recently who has 6 published books and a growing product line as well that are all about the theme of the books. And I recommended to her that she could start a coaching or consulting aspect of her business where she could help others go through that same process… she could teach them all the steps to how to get published and who to go with, how to promote the book and all the methods behind that, and.. how to have a product line that brings in additional revenue stream. 

There’s a lot to all of this and she knows how to do it. This could be presented in a group coaching environment or through webinars where she could have passive income as well.   

But you see, it really all depends on what kind of lifestyle you want to have, along with the vision that you have, right?

Are you just out to make as much as you can and the lifestyle or family will just have to get used to it and understand? 

Or are you looking for more of a lifestyle business scenario where you know how you want to live and you’re going to work this new business venture around that? Now this might, and probably will affect the amount of money you’ll be pulling in, but if personal happiness and family time are more important to you, then so be it, right? 

And, since we’re talking about goals, What are your financial goals? Is this something that you can define, or is it just to make as much as you can make? Again, you should have a solid target to aim for so you can measure the results. 

But overall, what does success look like for you? This should be that visionary goal you have in your head on how you either want to live or how to support yourself or your family. 

So take this vision of success, and put it on a timeline where you can dial it back in increments and break up that overall vision into smaller, reachable goals, or smaller visions so to speak. 

If your overall vision is to make $10K/month, then what do you have to do to get to the point of making $5k/month? What  do you have to do to make $2k/month? How many clients do you need? How many sales do you need to make? And what kind of strategies and tactics will you put into place to make that happen? 

You see, it’s one thing to have these great dreams and visions, but execution is the key. Again, dreams are nice, but a vision is hard work. 

Well I hope this helps you to think these things through and that I could offer something of value to you as you’re on this journey to having your own business. 

There are many steps along the way in this process and I’d be glad to talk to you to help you through it. Just shoot me an email at tom@tomclairmont.com. 

If you’re interested, I have an E-book you can get that can help you called ‘Developing the Confidence to Go After Your Dreams‘. You can get it HERE. 

Friends, stay encouraged, follow your dreams and don’t give up!