KEEP 2021 SIMPLE

We are approaching what I call the “goal setting crunch time.”  Many small business owners set multiple goals every year; much time and sometimes a lot of paper/computer notes are involved in the next year’s goal setting process.

I want to save you a lot of time and help you to focus on the one thing that will make the biggest difference in your life.

Using a “no holds barred” approach, start a list of successes that you wish to achieve next year.  Next to each item write what  benefits  will be derived if that  particular “success wish” is met. Make sure that your wishes are tangible things that can be measured. For example, having a successful year in business is nothing more than “motherhood and apple pie.” It’s a nice thought, but there is nothing tangible that you can track. Wishing to achieve a year end profit of $100,000 is measurable or adding $50,000 to your retirement account is also measurable.

Take a few days in the creation of your success wishes. Once your list and the benefits of each wish is complete, prioritize them in the order of impact. Now comes the hard part: select your number one and forget about the rest.

With one goal to focus on for next year, start working on the” how to”. Taking a similar approach, start a list of all the things you have to do to make that success wish a reality. Again, prioritization is important, so start working on item number one. When that action plan is completed, go on to number two. Yes, it is possible to have more than one action item working during the year, but make sure that you don’t fall back to doing easy work instead of following the sequence you identified.

Bonus time.  When you have selected your one goal and have developed an action plan, call me and we will review it together. Remember, it’s good to be in business for yourself, but not by yourself.