Creating a Business Vision Board
What is a business vision board?
A business vision board is a powerful tool for connecting you, the entrepreneur, to your business goals. In essence, a business vision board is a depiction of your most important goals in visual format.
But let's be honest, it’s so much more than the sum of its parts (pictures, words, bristol board, and glue).
It’s an effective process for connecting you to your goals on an emotional level, keeping you focused on the big picture when you get caught up in the weeds, and moving you toward a life and business you truly desire.
How is a business vision board different from a personal vision board?
It doesn’t have to be. If you are an entrepreneur, your life and business are ONE, and both need to be in alignment in order for you to experience fulfilling success.
The emphasis on a business vision board doesn’t mean you exclude the life goals that your business helps you achieve (like your dream vacation, or your dream home), but instead it means that you focus also on what you want your business to look like and the goals you have within it (like your dream team, the way you spend your time, how it feels to run your business, the kind of work you do, and how you impact your clients and community).
How to create a business vision board
Block out a few hours of uninterrupted time to let your mind wander - Give yourself the space to think into the future & reflect on what it is you really want to have happen in the next 1-3 years. I love to do this while hiking in the woods. If you process best by writing, carve out some uninterrupted time to sit with your journal and get all your thoughts out of your head and onto paper.
Get specific on the outcomes you want to create in your life & business this year - What are the actual goals you want to achieve across the important areas of your life and business? If you haven’t set goals yet, check out this guide. Your business vision board is going to be most powerful when it’s specific and focused on a short 12 month time frame. Don’t focus just on the financial vision, really dig into how your business feels, how you spend your time, what your team looks like, your thought leadership, and the impact you’re having on your clients and community.
Gather the supplies you need - Nothing fancy required – a piece of bristol board, a glue stick, some magazine cut outs, or printed photos from Pinterest, Instagram, Google that epitomize your goals. If you’re extra fancy, you can buy a frame to hang your vision board in once you’re finished for that next level touch.
Get creative - Sit down and arrange the images on your bristol board – clump images related to one goal together. Glue them down and add as many special touches –- stickers, quotes, washi tape – that your heart desires. Make this a fun process by playing your favorite music, having a cozy drink, and maybe gathering some friends together.
Integrate it into your routine - Put that vision board somewhere where you can intentionally look at it in the mornings and in the evenings. Set an intention to spend 5 mins a day looking at your vision board and sitting in the feeling of it. Share your vision with supportive family members, friends, or a coach to help hold you accountable.
Creating an Online / Pinterest Vision Board
If the idea of a physical vision board doesn’t appeal to you, you can easily create a digital vision board.
You could create a vision board ‘board’ on Pinterest and pin images that inspire you.
You could use one of Canva’s vision board templates to design your entire vision board online and then save it as a screensaver on your computer, phone, or even print it out.
You could look into the various apps that are devoted exclusively to housing your online vision board, like Vision Board on the App Store.
Personally, I prefer physical vision boards that I can have up on my office wall and linger over while I’m having my coffee in the morning, and before closing out my work for the evening. Especially because I spend so much of my day on a screen, a non-digital vision board feels better to me. However, I do love to take a photo of my physical vision board and keep it as my phone wallpaper so that it’s always with me.