Wednesday 5 January 2011

How To Make And Keep Your New Year's Business Resolutions

By Deborah Schultz

Like yearly plans and goals you choose for yourself, it can be just as hard to keep business resolutions. Knowing where you're starting from is the beginning for success in any attempt. You need a benchmark to measure where you're coming from and see your progress. Sometimes the goals that you make are too broad. Defining goals makes them easier to track. Breaking goals down will also lead to more success. Finishing a bunch of little milestones can make you feel more accomplished than tackling one big project. Finally, don't keep them to yourself. Sharing your resolutions can give you more accountability and push you to avoid the public embarrassment of telling someone you failed.. There are things that you can do to be more successful and achieve the goals that you set for your business.
Good goals start from baselines that you set. Knowing where your business is in a specific area will help you readily see improvement. When goals have specific targets, they are easier to track. Tracking goals helps you see progress. That progression will keep you motivated in an unending circle of accomplishment.
Make sure that your goals are realistic. A goal that you know you can achieve is much more likely to be met than pie in the sky objectives that end up exactly there. Being a realist keeps the goal in a positive light, instead of something that is unattainable and therefore, negative.
Simplify your goals by breaking them down into smaller parts. Aiming for those areas where you know you can succeed, and taking them one step at a time, instead of trying to eat the whole elephant, will help ensure your success. Achieving a small goal in one key area will keep you more motivated. Breaking down goals helps them be more realistic. When you make goals that are part of a larger vision, you are more apt to see that vision come true. Setting realistic goals for your business sets you up for success in achieving them. As you move from smaller to larger goals, with an ultimate vision in mind, you will see that making goals brings success. And you will be more apt to use goal setting as part of your business plan.
At the very least, you need to share your goals with your employees. Getting everyone on the same page will help make your business goals a team effort. Better yet, get their input and use it for even more cooperation. If you are working by yourself, then at least print out your goals so that you physically see them on a regular basis. Sharing them with a colleague or mastermind group will force you to be more accountable to keeping them. Helping others with their goals may give you the encouragement to keep your intentions when things get hard.
Setting goals for your business is one of the best ways to improve it. Things happen and your goals may need to be changed or prioritized. Everyone gets discouraged and can revert back to old habits. The trick in achieving goals is to keep going and know that keeping resolutions will help your business stay on the path to success in the new year.
Deborah Schultz is a marketing consultant, specializing in helping small businesses use the Internet to attract more businesses and build their customer base. To get your free report on 57 ways to Turbo Charge Your Website go to http://www.precisionmarketingstrategies.com.

No comments:

Post a Comment