The beginning of the year is an incredible time to tap into the collective energy of renewal, change, and motivation to create more. This excitement can sometimes bring forward a frenzied feeling of overwhelm, especially for solopreneurs and young business. Many of you know, from experience, that overwhelm can lead to procrastination really quickly. Before you know it, 12 months will have gone by and we’ll be ringing in the New Year once again. Like most, you do not want to be in the exact same place that you started the year out in!
Below you’ll find key activities that you need to stop doing in order to lock in more business (and life!) success this year. These sure fire tips will help you stay focused and on-purpose so that you can look back on your year and celebrate significant progress.
1. Avoiding Failure: many business owners stick to what they know how to do instead of trying something new out of fear of failure (even if what they are currently doing isn’t working for them!). To really get some movement going with your business, it’s essential to adopt a “fail fast” strategy. Any successful business owner knows that it’s important to try lots of different strategies on the day to day to see what sticks. If it doesn’t work, great! Now, you can learn from your experience, move on, and try another approach. Failure is an essential tool for learning and growth in your business.
2. Ignoring the numbers: Get a clear picture of how much money is coming in and how much is going out of the business. Also, every business should know how many leads it has to convert into clients to grow the business. Figure out which numbers are relevant to your particular business and start tracking them regularly. While it’s important to respect your intuitive senses, you also have to know the hard facts so that you can make decisions with clarity.
3. Doing it all without a strategy: A vision or idea of what your successful business will look like is very important, but not enough. You must have a strategy for implementing your vision. The strategy doesn’t have to be rigid, but it is necessary to keep you moving forward with focus and intention.
4. Multitasking: Research from Stanford University suggests that multitasking is less productive than focusing on completing one thing at a time. It is actually known to lower your IQ. Multi-tasking isn’t doing your mind or business any favours. Ditch the distraction in favour of a more methodical and effective approach.
5. Not re-evaluating your relevance: Every 8 weeks, reflect on where you are in the life cycle of the business. Is the business still relevant? Where is your business in the life cycle of the market? Where is your business in the life cycle of the industry? Questions like this help you gain clarity and adjust your plan and strategy.
6. Stop dabbling: There are a lot of people out there that dabble in business. They try this or that without any real commitment (and the results match). Become a master of your service, product, or craft so that you can be a real industry leader. Create a weekly plan and stick to it, knowing that you can adjust it as necessary.
7. Comparing yourself: There will always be someone that seems more successful than you. Comparison kills passion and excitement, which is needed to get you through the tough times and hard work. Stay focused on your agenda, learn from those who’ve succeeded in an area you want to grow in, and know that everyone has their own unique journey to success.
8. Stop saying yes to everything: Say no more often to business and projects that don’t align with your growth map. Also, say no to undercharging. Be clear about fees for project scope changes. A lot of people end up doing more work when the client’s needs change and don’t say anything about it! You are only worth what you demand from the market and when you undercharge, it can diminish your perceived value. Create some role definition and say no to additional responsibilities that don’t support your goals and well-being whenever possible (in life and business).
9. Not building your lead channels: More business comes from having more leads. Look for opportunities to let people know about your offering. Constantly do this by attending events and speaking at venues where you can share your message. Make relationships with other businesses and people that can channel leads to you. Look for opportunities every week to get out there and get noticed. Business won’t come if you aren’t being seen and heard, no matter how great your offering is.
10. Spending time on low impact work: Stop wasting time on low impact busywork like checking social media and emails every few minutes. Unless it’s critical to your business (which it probably isn’t) you don’t need to respond to every social media comment or mention immediately. Block out large chunks of time with no distractions to work on tasks outlined in your strategy and plan.
11. Analysis paralysis: Get out of your head and start doing. Instead of waiting for the plan or timing to be perfect, get out there and start taking actions today. Far too many business owners get stuck in unhelpful mental thought patterns that prevent real action and disrupt growth.
12. Needing to know more all the time: Sharpening your skills is great. However, be careful not to get stuck in a cycle of feeling like you need to constantly learn more. This can be a sneaky pattern of self-sabotage that prevents you from moving forward because you’re “busy” getting more knowledge. Overcome this fear by applying what you already know and stay open to learning as you go.
13. Going at it alone: Get connected with others that can help you plan, strategize, and execute. Every successful person needs a support system for their professional and personal development.
14. Stop repeating negative stories: When fears and worry around the business hit, most people get sucked into stress and anxiety fairly quickly. This leaves us unable to make well thought out decisions. Next time disastrous mind chatter comes up, identify the actions (if any) that you can take to address the worry. Then, instead of only focusing on what could go wrong, consider what would happen if all those things went right. This simple process of changing your self-talk rewires the brain to make decisions that attract more positive experiences. It also helps you decrease the stress hormones that catapult you into the fight, flight, and freeze response.
These easy pointers could be just what your business has been missing. With focus and a lot of commitment, this can be your best year yet! Go out there and conquer!
Share this Tweetable: Failure is an essential tool for learning and growth in your business via @NiraLifeCoach
Share this Tweetable: Changing your self-talk rewires the brain to make decisions that attract more positive experiences via @NiraLifeCoach
Join the conversation and let us know what great habits and activities have had the most impact on your business success! Share in the comments below.
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Nira Lall is a Trailblazer in our Toronto-West Branch, and is a Leadership Coach for individuals and businesses. She covers topics ranging from business, entrepreneurship, career, relationships, money, health, emotional well-being, and personal development. In her spare time, Nira can be found traveling to ancient sites around the world or praying to the CrossFit Gods for more upper body strength!
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