While the origin of the vision board is unknown, we do know that people have been visualizing their desired results for thousands of years.
Vision Boards can prove to be a great tool when it comes to brainstorming, goal planning, and clarifying goals for your small business!
What is a vision board exactly?
Basically, a vision board is a collage-type project filled with words, images, and phrases that reflect the development, growth and energy that you hope to manifest in the next little while – at home and at the workplace.
When you use a vision board, you are simply creating yourself something tangible that will help motivate and reinforce successful business ideas and thought patterns – it is a visualizing technique that can help you achieve your goals and transform your thinking! Think of your vision board as a “visual reflection of your goals”.
When is the best time to create a vision board?
There is never a better time to visualize your business than the start of a new year. The end or beginning of the years are both excellent times to create a vision board. Another great time to reflect and create a vision board would be around your Birthday! Typically during these times of year, we are in a natural state of reflection or more open to commitment to change – creating a vision board will allow you to identify and commit to goals.
Be sure to put your vision board in a place where you will be able to see it everyday! Great spot to display your board are: in your office, bedroom wall, back of bathroom door, in your family room or, on your mirror.
Where do I get started?
There are 5 steps to creating a vision board:
Evaluate
Take 15 minutes to write down a list of the goals that you were able to successfully achieve in this past year, then write down goals that you haven’t achieved yet. Take a moment to examine what goals you desire in the upcoming year. Do you want to achieve the goals you set out to but didn’t accomplish last year? Create 3 topics to focus on (ex: work/life balance, consistent marketing, increased networking). A vision board is a great place to rekindle your motivation and narrow down your focus!
Brainstorm
Grab a handful of photos of your family, friends, co-workers, along with a stack of old magazines that you may want to use for your vision board. Go through and cut or tear out all the images or phrases that really stick-out and “spoke” to you. Cut it out, even if you aren’t completely sure why that image stood out. These phrases and images should all reflect the goals that you are hoping to accomplish and where you would like to visualize your company to be in the next year. Throw them all into one large pile, now time to organize!
Organize
Take each of your chosen images and begin to place them onto your board. Place the images in anyway, shape or form that feels best to you. Take time to move things around until you feel they are in the “right” spot. Don’t paste anything down quite yet – take time to have fun with this step! You are creating a vision board of what you hope to become!
Apply
Next, it is time to paste your images down to the board… You’re almost done – don’t let this part stress you out. It is supposed to be random – you can trust your instinct! Put certain words and images right next to eachother on the board when you feel that they are relevant topics.
Engage
Now it is time for you to take time to be amazed at how your board turned out. Look and be amazed at how well the board flows and how the images end up working together perfectly.
Be sure to hang up your vision board somewhere you can see it daily – The more you look at your vision board, the more it will become a part of your awareness. And from there, you will intuitively act from that vision to bring success for your business to reality. Here is to a successful 2016!
For more insights on marketing strategy that actually works for small business, subscribe to the FreshLime Newsletter here. Connect with Jay Bean, Founder of FreshLime and Small Business Marketing Expert on LinkedIn and Twitter.