Transcript: “I want to read you a quote from Henry David Thoreau. This says, “In the long run, men hit only what they aim at.”

Not long ago, I was looking at some original things I wrote about Thriveal, this organization and what I wanted it to become. And really, a lot of those things are happening. But the very fact that they’re happening means I had to first write them down and take the courage to actually write those things down that I wanted to see happen. And so that really highlights the vision or the purpose of a vision in your firm.

So, when you sit down to figure out what do you want the future of your firm to look like two or three years out, you have to be courageous and bold enough to actually write it down. And when you do, it does become sort of this guiding light, this thing that pushes you forward, no matter what you’re running into, no matter all the ups and downs you go through, you’ve written down this thing you want to achieve. And when you wrote it down, you had some sense that it was valuable, that it was the thing that needed to happen that it was the thing that needed to be created in the world.

So maybe you’re thinking about a firm that’s a totally different type of firm. It’s one that’s never been around, it’s had a certain niche that you want to pursue. You have a certain team model. Whatever it is, it’s really important that you sit down and you define what that vision is. And a few ways to do it are, with a purpose statement, right. Just saying, “Here’s why we exist.” Write that down. And then say, “Here’s the five services we’re gonna offer to do that.” So write those down. And then write down your ideal client. Who is our ideal client? Who is the person that needs to purchase these five things to help us pursue our vision? And then maybe the last thing is, what kind of team members do I need? Not now, but maybe in two years, what team members do I need to fulfill those things?

So, it’s hard to write a vision. A lot of people don’t have visions written down, their purpose and things like that ’cause they’re super hard to write down. They take a lot of courage, but it’s really important. Write it down and it will be this thing that points you forward. You can always look back on it as this concrete thing of, okay, I remember that’s why I did this. That’s why I started this. There was a reason. I had some desire or vision for this thing. And so, it becomes a guiding light. So, your vision is important.

And then, the ideal client you’re gonna offer that vision to is really important. And then what are those services that are gonna fulfill that vision for those ideal clients? And what is your business model, what does your team look like? Write those things down, and it’s gonna help you know how to craft something that will ground you as you move forward, ’cause you’re gonna go through some confusing things and go through ups and downs as you build a business and walk through that complexity, especially if you start growing fast. So write those things down now to give you that light to the future.

I hope that helps to know how to build something healthy or at least write something down that’s healthy that keeps you pointed in the right direction.

Thanks so much. We’ll see you.”