Why your business vision is the key to a successful nutrition business

Helen Moynihan – Zest4life Associate & Business Mentor

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For me, having a clear business vision underpins every other aspect of running a successful nutrition business. I have a roadmap of what I want to achieve, and every decision I make is considered against it. It keeps me focused, and in action.

Having a clear business vision will:

• help you make key decisions on opportunities when they arise

• help you plan and direct your resources, both time and money

• help you create your ideal working week

• help you stay committed and motivated

Without understanding these, it can be hard to build a successful nutrition business.

If writing a business vision is new to you, then now’s the time to get started! There are four steps to think about:

1. Define your core values - personal to you, do these align with your business?

2. Know your why - what is the purpose, cause or belief that drives you?

3. Write a mission statement - what is the difference you are aiming to make to others? This should be brief, understandable and connect to your why

4. Create your vision - dream big, and allow your imagination to fly! Project forward, and decide exactly what you want your business to look like in five or ten years’ time

Once you have your vision, you can break it down and look at the steps you need to take to make it a reality. Think about how you will measure success, and hold your vision to account to ensure you achieve your dreams.

When your business vision is in place, the way you run your nutrition business on a day-to-day basis can support it. Rather than reaching Friday having seen a few clients, posted a couple of times on social media and done an hour’s CPD on a subject that looked quite interesting, you can start to focus in on activities and events that move you towards your vision.

Plan your week according to your vision

A default diary is one way to make this happen. By this I mean having a plan for what your ‘ideal’ week would look like, so that you reach the end of the week feeling fulfilled. Rather than reacting to tasks as they appear, you will know exactly what you should be doing, and when. Working this way helps you stay focused and productive, make progress and feel successful.

To create your default diary, identify different categories of activities that you will engage in during a typical week: client sessions, marketing, emails, meetings, networking, planning and review of business strategy, exercise, down time, free time. Use different colours to represent different activities.

The key is then to stick to the default diary as closely as possible. If you are spending a morning working on marketing, then emails and text messages will have to wait. Set a timer, and get into your flow. You may be amazed at how much more you achieve.

My top tips for a default diary:

• be realistic about what you can and can’t do and what else you may have committed to

• be flexible and review the diary regularly (target vs actual)

• change it to suit you

• allow for the unforeseen - build in free/unstructured time

• consider what’s important to you and build this in

• make sure your diary is in line with your goals and business vision

• prioritise self care

• build in breaks, time off, enjoyment and rewards

Monitor progress to keep your successful nutrition business on track

Within your business vision, having a clear understanding of how much you would like to earn each month is key. It will underpin all your decisions.

You also need to be monitoring your progress towards this figure as well as other aspects of your business. Numbers are critical - and you need to know them! By monitoring you will be able to objectively know what is going well and what needs to improve so that you can keep your business vision on track.

The business figures that I always recommend monitoring are:

• target 12 month revenue

• target monthly revenue vs actual

• target monthly clients vs actual

• target monthly discovery calls vs actual

• numbers in email list, open rates and click rates

• social media audience size and engagement e.g. comments and likes

• CPD hours

By tracking all of these you can course correct if the numbers aren’t meeting your targets. You will learn from what you’re doing, and understand which changes, if any, could help you meet your goals.

One of the reasons that businesses fail is that they continue doing things that aren’t working. If you know your numbers, you can make changes before it’s too late.

A final word…

Remember that your business vision is not set in stone. Revisit it regularly to check that it still aligns with your core values, and don’t be afraid to alter it if life takes you in a different direction.

It is your business, enjoy it!

Creating your business vision is just one of the business skills you will learn as part of the Business Growth Programme at Zest4life. To find out more, book your 45 minute complimentary business mentoring call: https://zestmentor.as.me/45mins