Have you ever been asked:
What’s your 5 year plan?

It’s a dreaded question.

Some days we wake up and don’t even know our five hour plan.

Sometimes the thought of waking up and doing what we are doing today, for the next 1825 days over five years, can overwhelm us to the point of inaction.

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Mute “stay in the box” advice

When you’re working on a passion project or growing a business, you have to keep the big vision in mind, even if you can’t yet visualize the realization of your dream. Think of what you want “it” to become and grow into.

Sip Bite Go came out of another site – a millennial type of event and promotional marketing blog. I love sharing my marketing background, but it was too limiting of a subject. I wanted to write about all the topics that interest people like me that juggle multiple skills and dreams. I quickly realized that, instead of getting stuck in a box, it was better to focus on all of the things that felt like “me” – creating, traveling around the country, sharing my best meals and experiences, creating recipes that are easy enough to do at home, celebrating life events and experiences, finding inspirational ideas and exploring them, using photography to share moments.

Thinking big to find untapped energy

There’s a lot of encouragement out there to dig yourself a niche. It might sound tempting to only build from one particular subject or perspective, but a lot of people who end up failing bury themselves along the way. Fads come and go, but the way to keep your passion burning from the flame in your heart down to your fingertips tapping the keyboard (the motivation that keeps you cranking out the promotional posts and answering customer service emails at 9 pm) is to allow your dreams to burst the bubble that seems safe and comfortable.

Consider the series I did on my blog about gift wrapping tips and ideas in December. I shared how to create super cute pom poms from yarn and a fork. At first I shared it as a Christmas tip, meaning it had a life span of 1 month a year. I set up all the photography to be Christmas-centric and put up the post. But I was going to be missing out on all the cute gift wrapping on Pinterest boards come Valentine’s Day. And for birthdays. And for anniversary gifts. That is a lot of gifting throughout the year, and a lot of people would be missing out on this cute pom pom making trick because of the limits I had imposed on myself. Thinking broader helped me keep the passion going for more than just that one blog post. I now promote the DIY project throughout the year and get visitors every week to my blog from that one post as a result.

Imagine what can happen when you think broadly about what your business can become – you create something that can touch more people at more times in their life, and on a regular basis. It’s a no brainer to invest time and energy into something with big potential.

Inspiring thought: Bet on yourself

Take the airplane view of all the territory your ideas can cover on your blog, your Instagram feed, and through networking activities. Stay true to your one recognizable brand, but know when to branch out. You really never know who you will become or what your passions will evolve into. Try not to back yourself into a corner from the beginning. Become what you’re meant to become.

 “If you have an exit strategy, it’s not a passion.”
inspirational quote by Mark Cuban

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