FRESH STARTS! Step back and regroup.
Frustration may set in on a small business owner. Things don’t always go the way you hoped. There is more to do than you have time. Finances become an issue. Doubt may start creeping into your mind. You ask yourself, “Why don’t others realize the value of my product/service?” Is it time to do something else?
My solution to these problems is a Fresh Start. I don’t mean giving up, but following a simple formula to get yourself back on a positive track with your current business.
Sometimes you have to give up on your current business plan in order to listen to and learn from the subliminal messages that your business is trying to impart.
- Walk away from your business; I don’t mean forever, but for a day or two or, better yet, three. This requires a physical departure from your daily routine. Staying there will only manifest the negative thinking. Yes, you can figure out a way to “getaway.”
- Take the first day or at least part of the first day and treat yourself to some alone time. No computer, no phone just you alone in a quiet environment. (A lake, or the woods, or a cabin, etc.) This is the most difficult part of the Fresh Start process; you want to take some action, to do something but don’t give in.
- The next step is to write, yes on paper, the answers to the following questions:
- Why did you start this business?
- What potential did you visualize for this business?
- If you were starting this business today, what would be the first 10 things you would do?
- What are the 5 best action items you took in your business up to now?
- Continue writing and answer the following (no notes allowed, memory only)
- Write out: Your Vision, Your why, and Your Value proposition.
Now the most important part, find a support person (a mentor, coach, trusted business associate, etc.) and book a four hour period to develop an action success plan. Keep an open mind during this process. Remember, nothing is impossible. In most cases a solution is found to give the business the Fresh Start that it needs.
The last part of this process is to establish an accountability system to which you will commit and report, on a twice weekly basis, your progress to your support person. You may have to pay for your support person, but it will be the best investment you have every made on behalf of your business.
MAKE IT A GREAT DAY!
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Tips & Advice by Nick Petra, CFP – Founder of Strategic Duck and BizQuack
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