Ground Your Vision
Just as you need to know your purpose as your compass in life, your business needs a specific purpose for existing. Your business needs its own identity in the same way we all need to know who we are. Your vision for your business is your big picture view of where it fits in the world and what it stands for. When your business has a clear vision, it:
- Naturally attracts people who align with the same vision
- Builds momentum over time to keep growing and changing in response to its environment
- Helps to make a positive, tangible impact in the world
- Fuels your own passion to continue your work
Your vision is grounded when it is connected with you personally and with the world around you. In other words, it has both an internal and an external point of reference that gives it tangibility and makes it a possible reality.
3 Keys for a Grounded Vision
There are three key elements to articulate in grounding your vision:
- Your Values – “What feelings are most important for you to experience in your life?”
- Your Vision – “What do you see for a better world?”
- Your Cause – “Who needs your help most?”
Claim Your Tribe
The way your business makes its mark in the world is through the people it serves. Your patrons are changed in some small or significant way as a result of doing business with you. Then, they go on to share their new reality with the people they meet. This is the ripple effect that your business can have when it makes a positive, emotional impact on people. When your business has a tribe, it:
- Grows organically, one person at a time
- Has ‘strength in numbers’ because each person feels a personal resonance to be part of your vision
- Has a far-reaching impact due to the emotional shift that each person experiences when they do business with you
In order to make this type of impact, you need to know and understand ‘your tribe’. These are the people who are naturally drawn to working with you because they resonate with you and your mission. They are different from people who just want to use your services to fulfil a need. The people in your tribe want to use your services AND they want to explore their connection with you and the bigger picture of what you are creating. As with everything in business, you need to have clarity about who you are serving so your message can be heard amongst all the ‘noise’ in the market. The key characteristics that define your tribe are centred around the problem or challenge that they are currently facing.
3 Keys to Claiming Your Tribe
To claim your tribe, you need to ‘speak’ to them on an emotional level and share the wisdom you have gained from your own life experience. There are three things that give you a solid foundation in your market:
- Your Story – “What is your journey from struggle to wisdom?”
- Your Tribe – “Who specifically needs your wisdom?”
- Your Wisdom – “What is the wisdom that they need?”
Action Steps For This Week
Complete the following exercises in Google Docs in preparation for your call this week:
- Your Vision
- Your Cause
- Your Wisdom
- Your Lifestyle