Sometimes our best ideas come to us when we least expect them. One way to spur that process is to use metaphors and similes to get you out of your logical mind and into your imagination.

What’s a metaphor for your business? If you love music, what if you imagined that your business were a song or the score to an epic movie? Where would your business be in the song right now? The overture or the chorus? What themes do you notice throughout your song?

How is the growth of your business like a flower in bloom or like a tidal wave? If your business were a hat, what kind of hat would it be?

See what inspires you or even just strikes your fancy. You can even simply take a look at what’s around you right now and use random objects as starting off points. Who knows, imagining your business is like a ballpoint pen or a flashlight might spark a new product idea or may help you solve a problem in a fresh, exciting way!

Earlier this week I was talking to a client about her business. She had been spending lots of time in front of a Word document and her marketing plan was feeling heady and hard. So, we shifted things up a bit. By physically moving around and connecting with her values, we discovered a whole new angle on her business. She lit up. The energy she created from that place was invigorating, inspiring and engaging (quite a fabulous combo for attracting her prospective customers, don’t ya think?). Fresh, fun new marketing ideas and actions burst forth.

There is so much power in creating from what you’re passionate about. And tapping into your right-brain intuition through movement and creativity helps deeply connect you to that passion. It’s the heart and soul of your business. And that’s truly what makes your business unique!

When I first started my coaching practice back in 2003, I quickly put together a website and chose the name Change Journey Coaching. It was a fine name and a clean, professional site. (In other words, it was standard, generic and safe.) It lacked my heart and soul.

Over the years since then, I learned to claim my unique voice and launched my new brand last fall. Artizen Coaching reflects who I am, what I value and what I bring to my work (and life). Sure, it was scarier to publicly take a stand for what I believe in (Would people not get what I’m about? Not value it/me? Blah, blah, blah). The cool thing is that yes, people are getting it and valuing it. And by coming from my heart and soul, my business is growing and I’m attracting wonderful clients. Most of all, I feel in alignment with my values both personally and professionally.

How are you bringing your heart and soul into your business?

A client said to me in a recent session, “Business is an uncreative process.” The statement felt weighted down by lots of have-tos and shoulds. As we dug a little deeper, we realized that this was a long-held belief that business could only be analytical and logical. As we explored even further, we uncovered that what was really exciting her about her business idea was the opportunity to make a positive impact and to express herself. Now that sounds like a creative process to me!

I definitely think of business as an extremely creative process. (Believe me, I wouldn’t be doing it if I thought otherwise!) It requires coming up with new ideas, products and services. It means constantly innovating to differentiate yourself in the marketplace. It involves taking plenty of risks and developing several creative options to choose from. And, at the heart of it, it can be a reflection of you, your values, vision and voice.

Yes, business does include some tedious tasks as well as the necessary planning, analysis and decision-making. Those are the “whats” that need to happen. The Right-Brain Business Plan is an example of the “how.” The “how” can totally transform something seemingly boring or laborious into something fun, creative and even joyful and inspiring!

A few months ago, I was feeling overwhelmed by all the different pieces of my business. Instead of getting stuck in the what, I switched the “how.” I created the mind-map pictured above to help me sort out how all my endeavors fit together. Once I saw how the colorful lines flowed together, I reconnected with why I am doing what I am doing and was excited by all the opportunities ahead.

What limiting beliefs do you currently hold about business? How are those beliefs stifling your creativity? What right-brain “hows” can you incorporate into your business to energize and inspire you (and your customers)?

The beginning of the year is a great time for setting goals. So as we gear up for 2008, why not take an out-of-the-box approach to goal-setting and business planning.

For entrepreneurs, The Right-Brain Business Plan is a fun, creative way for envisioning your business success.

Forget those Excel spreadsheets and Word documents (at least for now!). First start off by connecting with your vision through images, colors, textures and other creative elements. By tapping into your right-brain intuition, you’ll let your imagination run wild and you’ll discover new perspectives and options that your logical left-brain may not have allowed.

To make your Right-Brain Business Plan, allow yourself to imagine what your business will look and feel like in the future (a year, 2 years, 5 years from now, it’s up to you!). What values are you honoring in your professional ventures? Who are you impacting and how? What legacy are you leaving through your work? Imagine where you do your work – what are the colors, textures, sights, sounds and smells of this place? Allow your senses to really take it all in. When you feel totally connected to your vision – as if you were living and breathing it TODAY – you have harnessed the power of the Right-Brain Business Plan.

Now it’s time to capture that experience in a creative way to keep you connecting with your vision.

Start flipping and clipping! Thumb through magazines, catalogs and other collateral for images that evoke what you discovered in your visualization. And be open to images that simply just speak to you.

Once you’ve collected all your pieces now it’s time to start putting it all together in a visual, interactive way.

Here are some ideas for crafting your own unique Right-Brain Business Plan:

• An accordion book makes a great, portable plan. The front side can be your vision and the back side all the details.
• A collaged box. Your vision and desired impact can cover the exterior and all the details and plans can go on the inside.
• A large vision board that you and other teammates can build together. Hang it up in a community space so you can all connect with your shared vision.
• A video montage complete with music, photos, video clips and words. A multi-media business plan can also be the foundation for an engaging marketing tool.

Now that you have a visual reminder that resonates with you, if you so desire, you can start to detail out the other pieces of a traditional plan.

What ideas do you have? I’d love to hear how you’re applying my Art Visioning approach to your own Right-Brain Business Plan.