Success doesn’t just come from how hard you work, it comes from how well you know yourself. We spend so much time chasing the next big strategy or trying to DIY everything ourselves that we rarely pause to ask: What kind of entrepreneur am I really? If you’ve ever felt stuck, scattered, or strangely disconnected from your own business, even when it’s technically “working” this might be the reason. Knowing whether you’re a Visionary or a Strategist can change everything. It shapes how you lead, what you focus on, and who you need by your side.

What It Really Means to Be a Visionary or a Strategist

When I talk about being a visionary or a strategist, I’m not talking about job titles or personality tests. I’m talking about the core wiring that drives how you think, operate, and grow a business.

Both are powerful in their own right, but they serve completely different functions.

The Visionary:

Visionaries are driven by possibility.
They’re the idea generators, the dreamers, the big-picture thinkers. They often have a strong sense of mission, see opportunities others miss, and can rally people around a vision with infectious energy.

But while they’re incredible at getting the ball rolling, they often struggle to keep it moving without support. Visionaries tend to get distracted by new ideas, avoid structure, and feel frustrated when they’re forced to operate in a rigid system.

The Strategist:

Strategists are builders.
They’re the people who take abstract ideas and turn them into step-by-step plans. They thrive on structure, efficiency, and making things work. They know how to reverse-engineer a result and love nothing more than seeing a plan come to life, clean and streamlined.

But they’re often not the ones dreaming up new paths or pivoting quickly. Without a clear direction or strong vision, they can get stuck perfecting systems instead of growing them.

Why This One Shift Will Change How You Grow

If you’ve ever felt like your growth stalled, or like running your business became more draining than energizing, it’s probably because you’re trying to operate outside your natural zone of genius.

Visionaries burn out when they’re buried in backend operations, trying to set up automations and structures they don’t understand.

Strategists get stuck when they’re forced to constantly innovate without direction, chasing ideas that don’t align with the long-term plan.

But when you know which one you are? You can make smarter decisions:

• You can design your role around what lights you up.
• You can hire (or partner with) someone who fills your gaps.
• You can finally stop feeling like you’re bad at business, because it turns out, you’re just playing the wrong role.

So… Which One Are You?

Let’s get super honest. You may have done both roles (most entrepreneurs do). But which one feels natural? What kind of work energizes you, and what kind drains you faster than a dying phone battery?

You Might Be a Visionary If…

• You light up in creative brainstorming sessions.
• You have more ideas than you know what to do with.
• You think in outcomes and experiences, not steps and timelines.
• You procrastinate or freeze when it’s time to organize or plan.
• You often start projects but struggle to finish without help.
• You get overwhelmed by details, systems, or backend processes.
• You love being the face of your brand but hate building the infrastructure behind it.
• You feel frustrated when you’re stuck in “maintenance mode” instead of creating something new.

You Might Be a Strategist If…

• You naturally think in systems, processes, and workflows.
• You love creating order out of chaos.
• You feel most confident when you have a clear plan and know what to do next.
• You’d rather improve and scale an idea than come up with one from scratch.
• You enjoy optimizing how things run, even if no one else sees it.
• You get overwhelmed when there’s no structure, direction, or plan.
• You prefer working behind the scenes to make everything flow more smoothly.
• You find your groove when you’re executing, not imagining.

The “Both” Category (Hi, It’s Me)

There’s also a rare group of us who straddle both worlds. I’m one of them.

Maybe it’s my ADHD brain, or maybe it’s just years of practice, but I’ve learned how to live in both roles: I can dream up the big vision and create the plan to make it happen. That doesn’t mean I’m constantly doing both well at the same time, but it does mean I’ve learned when to toggle between dreaming and building, and more importantly, how to pull myself out of the clouds and into the work.

I have so many ideas. Like, truly, countless business ideas. They come to me at the most random times: while driving, folding laundry, walking through Antique shops. I love that part of me. That energy is fun. It makes me feel alive. It’s the spark that keeps things exciting.

But the truth is, if I lived only in that world, nothing would ever get finished. Ideas would stay in my notebook, filed under “someday,” while life continued on. And I’ve learned that dreaming doesn’t pay the bills, executing does.

So I’ve made peace with the fact that while I’m both, I have to choose which role to live in the majority of the time. For me, that looks like spending about 10% of my time in that visionary space. Letting myself dream, explore, be curious, and inspired. And then 90% of the time? I pull myself into my strategist side.

That’s where the real momentum happens.

That’s where I get to build the systems, write the workflows, map out the project timelines, and start taking small, doable steps toward the fun idea I had. That’s where businesses are born, and scaled.

I go through this cycle throughout the year.

There are seasons where I need to feel more inspired, more awake. In those times, I lean into the visionary role again. I zoom out. I imagine. I ask what’s next. Sometimes I look at a current business venture and dream up a new offer, a new brand extension, or a new way to reach people. And sometimes, yes, I even start something entirely new.

But I know that if I don’t return to the builder in me, none of those things will go anywhere.
So I let the visionary spark the flame, but the strategist in me keeps it burning.

That balance, that cycle, that awareness, it’s what allows me to keep creating and building without burning out or feeling like I’m constantly starting over.

And if you’re someone who relates to both roles, I encourage you to ask: Which one am I best at staying in long enough to create real momentum?

That’s probably your core zone. And knowing that will help you decide how to spend your time, and who to bring alongside you for the parts you don’t want to stay in forever.

Why Knowing This Helps You Grow Faster

When you build a business aligned with your strengths, you spend less time second-guessing and more time executing. You stop trying to “get better” at the things that make you miserable and start building support systems around them instead.

Here’s what it looks like when you embrace your zone of genius:

For Visionaries:

• You can stay focused on content, connection, brand, and customer experience.
• You can hire or partner with a strategist or integrator to implement your ideas.
• You get to move faster because you’re not stuck building everything from scratch.
• You feel more free because you’re no longer managing every moving piece.

For Strategists:

• You can focus on making things work better, smoother, and more efficiently.
• You can partner with a visionary who brings creative energy and growth ideas.
• You stop spinning your wheels on marketing or creative direction and start executing with clarity.
• You feel peace knowing there’s a clear mission behind what you’re building.

A Real-Life Example

When I stepped into my client’s business a few months ago, it wasn’t just a new project, it was a perfect alignment.

She’s a true visionary. Full of passion, creativity, and insane talent. She sees the big picture so clearly, and she’s magnetic in her zone. But she also felt overwhelmed. Like she was chained to a business she loved, spending all her time doing backend tasks that drained her joy.

That’s where I came in. Everything that frustrated her, building systems, creating workflows, strategizing how to scale, those were the things I genuinely love to do.

Together, we’re both thriving. She gets to spend her time doing what she does best, knowing that someone she trusts is building the foundation behind the scenes. I get to work in my zone of genius, knowing I’m helping her business grow in a way that’s sustainable and aligned.

It works because we’re different. And because we know it.

Who You Need by Your Side

Once you know what you are, the next step is figuring out who compliments you.

If you’re a Visionary, look for people who:

• Are grounded and detail-oriented
• Know how to take initiative and execute
• Ask clarifying questions and crave clarity
• Think in processes, plans, and systems

If you’re a Strategist, look for people who:

• Bring creative energy and aren’t afraid to pivot
• See opportunities where others see obstacles
• Keep you focused on the why when you’re lost in the how
• Can articulate and cast vision in ways that draw others in

Whether it’s a business partner, a project manager, a creative director, or a VA, look for people who fill the gaps, not mirror your strengths.

Build From Where You Shine

You don’t need to be everything to everyone. You don’t need to learn how to be great at the parts of business you secretly hate. You just need to get radically honest about what you’re great at, and build from there.

The more you know yourself, the better decisions you’ll make. The stronger your collaborations will be. The faster your business will grow.

So ask yourself:

• What am I really good at?
• What lights me up?
• What drains me?
• What kind of support would change everything?

Because the sooner you start building your business around what you do best, the sooner you’ll create something that actually works for you—not just your customers.

And that? That’s the kind of growth that lasts.