VISION IS CRUCIAL!
FINANCIAL LITERACY INCLUDES HAVING VISION!
“The only thing worse than being blind is having sight and no vision”. ~Helen Keller This quote is phenomal. I heard it again the other week as my Pastor began his sermon and little did I know I would experience this quote to the fullest. As an entrepreneur, I work primarily with other entrepreneurs. To have the desire to start and operate your own business is not an easy task and I’m much aware of that. Working with people who have begun to build their own empire, I learn from the people I work with all the time. In fact, it was one of the things I love the most about what I do. My reasons for owning my own business are: 1) I found a niche’ that wasn’t being filled and it bothered me to watch others need something for which that had no idea of how to receive, ask or get. 2) I love handling money, business and assisting people in doing both. 3) What I do is my gift. The ability to explain money, credit, how they work together, the importance of numbers for an entrepreneur and what they mean, how they can use the numbers to improve their business and understanding generally how business works are things that come naturally to me. It’s the way my mind works. My vision includes growing from entrepreneurship to a business owner with multiple departments that handle bookkeeping, payroll services, human resources and consulting for specialized industries.
Having said that, most entrepreneurs I’ve worked with have been the same. They are just as excited about what they do as I am about what I do. Our working relationship works well because of mutual respect, understanding and COMMUNICATION. It’s important for both of us to ask questions about the things we do not understand so that both needs are met in the working relationship. Last week, I met, handled and dwelt an entrepreneur that was lacking something I was certain every entrepreneur had; VISION.
How can one begin a business, step out on faith without a vision? Well this person did. It blew me away! I can explain anything to anyone. I realize that some financial terms, situations and circumstances I present can be overwhelming. There is a lot of information, a lot to consider when one steps out alone to build a company. There is the daunting task of making money today for survival and the need to plan for the future when one would like to retire. In the midst of those two opposite ends of the spectrum are “a million little things, a million steps, a lot to do and soooooooooo much planning and execution to occur.” It’s my job to walk the entrepreneur through each step at their pace in a timely fashion to avoid potential tax penalties, loss of money and time. However, one thing I learned that I cannot give to an entrepreneur is a vision! He or she must have that on his or her own.
When one begins to build, seek or gain more, he or she should be prepared that having more means managing more! Having more money doesn’t mean having fewer problems, but more options (which can feel problematic), circumstances and challenges for one to navigate. It means that one could grow from being able to manage his or her finances alone to requiring a team of experts working together for the best solutions. It means considering adding to your business the necessary people, thoughts and ideas for continued success. Building a business requires one to have a vision of what success would look like. It’s horrible to reach a goal and due to lack of vision desire to return back to the place of less than because one is ill-prepared mentally to deal with more. It happens and before I saw it, no one could make me believe that it could be so. Most of the entrepreneurs I’ve worked with, I’ve watched them sacrifice everything to gain their success. We’ve cried together, planned together, felt like giving up together but they held on and their business is thriving together. To see someone reach a level and then regret it because he or she didn’t know what it (success) would look like; and wasn’t willing to learn, to try, to listen, to become educated on their new financial level blew me away.
As previously stated, I love what I do, so I began sending material of education, words of encouragement until the responses ceased. It hit me and broke my heart that you cannot instill vision into people. When I announced that I would cease from contacting, the response was overwhelming; “okay great, because I probably will not make this much money again.”
Bewildered, slightly annoyed and very aggravated, I had to release. How could one step out on faith, do something, become successful and have no thought of what success would like and then run?
I’m a firm believer that we learn from people, things to do and things not to do which is why I’m sharing this dilemma. I realized it was foreign to me (this thought process) because I’m always planning for the future, but then again that’s what I do. Just because I couldn’t understand it didn’t mean I should be judgmental about it either. The goal is to be the same business woman and hope that one day this potential client will remember the seeds that were planted into him or her and grow. The other thing I learned is great financial success is overwhelming so prepare. At the same time, I was very encouraged about the success knowing that my season must be near. Then once again on Sunday at church, the message was about ‘motivation and motives’. Your motivation is your ‘why’, you do what you do. It occurred to me that the potential client may not have known his or her or ‘why’ and not knowing made it easy to let go or be willing to throw away something that most people would have found precious.
This encounter will be the backdrop of many lessons for which I will draw inspiration, motivation, encouragement and lessons. This too, is the working of my mind. I say that not to boast but to explain. It is a gift passed down by my parents where I learn to gain insight from all the things I experience. It’s what I do and who I am. To simply say one wants to be successful isn’t really a vision, success is abstract and relative based on the person who is seeking it. To chase money isn’t a goal or motivation because you can gain it, not realize you have it and not know what to do with it! As was the case of the potential client. Frightening thought huh? It scared me not judging him but just thinking about me! Think about you! How do you handle money?
If your income increased, how would you know? Most people spend money BEFORE they receive it! Just the thought of more money or a raise and in one’s mind he or she has spent that money a million times! The average person writes down nothing ESPECIALLY THESE DAYS! There isn’t a budget for finances, the budget generally is well I spend enough to get what I need and most people exaggerate their needs by calling their ‘wants’ needs!
NOTHING can replace vision! You vision will tell your why, how, what and to what degree. The vision provides direction for resolving the challenges, conflicts and even handling the success! “Where there is no vision, the people perish”! Never a truer phrase! Before you begin to chase what you think you want….write the vision, make it plain! Habakkuk 2:2
