As a real estate investor, you are essentially running a business. Most entrepreneurs who own business will say that having a good business plan will increase your chance of succeeding in your business adventure. We certainly agree with that statement, but here is more:

Learning from Cameron Herold, the author of Vivid Vision: A Remarkable Tool For Aligning Your Business Around a Shared Vision of the Future, we realize that a business plan does not necessarily need to be boring. It does not necessarily need to be hundreds of pages with perfect indentation. Who really likes to read that kind of stuff anyway?!

Instead, while staying professional, your business plan can still be playful or fun. One thing we learned from Brandon Turner at BiggerPockets.com is that he wrote his business plan as a Vivid Vision, and he wrote it in a form of a newspaper, with 3 columns, which allowed him to frame it up to his wall and be readily available as a reinforcement any time.

Prepare for a Vivid Vision

A Vivid Vision is typically 3 years out. So to begin, close your eyes and imagine: What will your real estate business (or any business) be like after 3 years of operation? Think about the surrounding of your office, what type of furniture you see there, what kind of car you drive into the office… etc.

Get to the Details

Next, you need to fill in some contents into that vivid vision. You do not need to be too rational / practical at this stage, but you should try to be realistic (write down you ride into the office on the back of your lion is not going to help with the situation). Though, it is acceptable to let your wild side kick in a little here!

What you should write down are things like:

• How many people do you see working with you or for you in the office?
• What roles are these people taking on?
• How many properties are you managing?
• What types of properties are you managing?

Some suggest that you should do this exercise the “traditional” way – by using pen and paper, as opposed to typing on your computer. We at DoorInvestor does not have a strong preference one way or the other, but it does not hurt to pick up a pen to write on a paper for a change! Also, do not get tied up with the “how” – you do not need to figure all this out on “how” to get there just yet. Focus on the “vision” and not the “mechanics” in your Vivid Vision.

Review your Vivid Vision

Once you have your Vivid Vision completed, take a short break, and then come back to review. This is how you do it: Imagine the clock springs forward 3 years, and you visualize yourself walking into your office. What do you see? Imagine you are walking around with the check list on a clipboard, ask yourself these questions:

• Are the number of people and the type of people present in the office?
• Are they busy managing the number of properties that you expect?

Start checking things off as you tour around, to make sure that you can vividly see all the things are what you expected, just as you planned it “3 years ago.”

Vivid Vision is a very pioneering concept and we strongly encourage you to read the book yourself.