The #1 thing successful business owners do (that new entrepreneurs think is a waste of time)

What if you could design your “perfect life”?

One where you could have, feel, or achieve anything.

You probably think it’s a waste of time. Back in 2020 I thought the same thing.

Until I met a number of entrepreneurs worth $100M+ who swore by this exercise.

Being someone who likes to follow a proven playbook I gave it a shot. They recommended I read Cameron Herold’s book Vivid Vision.

The entire idea comes down to one simple exercise:

Write down what your life and business looks like in 3 years, with as much detail as possible, in the present tense.

In December 2020 I wrote my “Vivid Vision” for 2023. At the time we had 12 Midas shops in one market. I was heavily involved in running the day to day with little time for anything else.

Here are a few of the things I wrote:

“We have 32 shops grossing $40 million per year” ✅

“We have great leadership that runs the day to day without me.” ✅

“I play golf & work out on a weekly basis.” ✅

“My family goes on 6+ vacations per year” ✅

“We enjoy recent upgrades to our house which include the new kitchen ❌, bathrooms ✅, deck ✅, pool ✅, & finished basement ✅

Many of the major items of my vision came true! In fact my life today is better than what I imagined three years ago. There was also other stuff that didn’t happen (yet) or I’ve changed my priorities since then.

I’m now working on my next 3 year vision but this time I’m going bigger. The problem is our logical brains imagine growth happening evenly over time. The reality is growth can happen exponentially, like a rocketship.

When you imagine your company’s future in vivid detail, a few important things happen:

1. You get clear on what you want. This helps you make better decisions and stay focused.
2. Your brain starts to look for ways to make your vision happen. It’s like it starts working in the background to help you.
3. You feel more motivated and excited because you can see the finish line. This gives you the energy to keep going when things get hard.
4. You notice opportunities that you might have missed before. It’s like you have special night-vision goggles

The Vivid Vision exercise makes you aware of the actions you need to take in the next months, weeks, and days.

If you want to try it for yourself, use this simple process:

1. Block off 3 hours to dream up a movie in your head of what you want your life and business to look like 3 years from now. Write it down like it’s already real. (Not: “we will do $10M in sales”, but “we do $10M in sales.”)

2. Use all 5 senses. What do you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel as you imagine walking through your future life?

3. Include lots of details about things like:

• What do you do for fun?
• How much money are you making?
• What does your day-to-day look like?
• What do your customers say about you?
• What is your business revenue/locations?
• Awards or recognition you’ve gotten in your field?

4. Work backward from your 3-year vision to figure out what you need to do in the next 1 year to make it happen.

• Where do I need to be in 2 years to make this happen?
• Which actions do I need to take in the next 6 months?
• What is the one thing I can do tomorrow to get closer to my vision?

5. Turn your 3-year goals into daily and weekly habits. Always tie them back to your bigger picture.

I know, this might sound too simple to be powerful. Or maybe a little “out there” for you.

I felt the same way before I tried it.

For example, let’s say you’re a new franchisee and your 3-year goal is to grow from 1 to 7 locations.

Here’s how you could reverse-engineer that:

• Year 3: Acquire/open 3 new locations
• Year 2: Acquire/open 2 new locations
• Year 1: Acquire/open 1 new location
• 6 months: build great relationships with every local franchisee
• Tomorrow: map out every existing franchise & document everything you know about the owners

This is exactly what I did after creating my 2023 Vision.

I realized that I couldn’t reach the target of growing to 30+ stores in 3 years simply by opening new stores. That would take too long. Instead, I had to do it through acquisitions.

I mapped out every franchise owner within a 90-minute drive of Philadelphia’s and started to build relationships. I told every one of them I was interested in acquiring their business when they were ready to sell.

It worked!

Many business owners never do this. They’re too busy putting out fires or chasing the next shiny thing. They operate on “autopilot”.

So even if you’re a little skeptical, I encourage you to give it a shot. Carve out a morning to vividly imagine the future you want to create, and then work backward to bring it to life.

Of course, you need to back it up with action. But I know you got what it takes.

And if you ever want more guidance from me, there are two ways I can help.

If you want to get your first franchise business off the ground, consider booking a discovery call with my team​

And if you’re a driven franchisee and want to scale your business to 8-figure, consider joining my 8-Figure Franchisee community​

Cheers,

Brian Beers