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Individuals aren’t the only ones who can make resolutions to improve or make changes in the coming year. Many businesses also take the New Year as a way to make a fresh start and set some new goals and aspirations. Actually sticking to these promises and seeing them through is another story. So, we’re a month into 2012 and now’s as good a time as ever to step back and examine how these resolutions are panning out. If you’re finding yourself struggling to stick to your new goals, here are 6 tips to help you stay on track.
Be Specific – Take a look at the goals you jotted down for the coming year. Are they vague? For instance, “increase sales” is too open a statement and therefore can be challenging and overwhelming to actually accomplish. Drill down and make your resolutions more specific, such as “increase sales by 5% or 10%” so that you have a real, tangible goal to work toward. And, as an added bonus you’ll know exactly when you’ve achieved it.
Create an Action Plan – Once you have your list of resolutions, you’ll need to come up with a specific plan for how you intend to reach your goals. For instance, “to increase sales by 10% I will beef up my social media activity and launch a mailing campaign”. When you have clear steps to follow you’re much more likely to see the results you desire.
Take Control and Enact Change – If your resolution was to improve a certain behavior, such as becoming more organized and productive, focus on what you need to change in order to actually realize your goals. Create a detailed filing system, get your calendar in order or set aside specific time to tackle your email inbox. Whatever your goal, take control of the situation and change your own behavior to see it through.
Make Time – Running a business leaves little time for much else, but if you really want to accomplish your goals it’s critical that you make the time necessary to do so. For instance, creating that filing system and getting all of your documents organized will take time, but it’ll pay off. Just think of all the time you’ll actually save by not having to spend half the day trying to locate that important document. If you can’t do it all at once, set aside specific time in your calendar, say one hour per day, until the goal is reached.
Enlist Help – Let your team in on your larger business goals and enlist their commitment to help see them through. The more people you have focused on a task, the more likely (and faster) it will be accomplished. Plus, it’s much harder to go back on a resolution when others know about it.
Reward Yourself – If your personal goal was to lose 10 pounds, you might consider buying yourself a new gadget as a reward once you reach that goal. It’s no different for business resolutions. When you achieve a goal you’ve set, congratulate yourself (and your team, if they’ve played a role) and celebrate your accomplishment. You deserve it!
The important thing to remember is that change takes time and patience. That’s why it’s so rewarding. If you make your goals clear and specific, create an action plan to follow and commit the time necessary to seeing it through, you’ll achieve the results you want.
Labels: small business tips
posted by Rebecca Daneault @ 9:09 AM