By REDC Business Advisor Kerri Salls
The New Year is here already!
Before you set an ambitious to-do list, here are four criteria that will help you establish the start the year on sound footing with your small business.
1. Be Invaluable
To be invaluable to your business and to your clients, you must always deliver your best. Be working on those tasks that make you most valuable to the organization and your clients. So, before you launch into an ambitious year, get clear on what makes you invaluable. When you engage in projects and tasks, only invest time in what’s important and will make you the most successful.
2. Your Purpose Must Be Bigger
Your purpose must be greater than just the revenue it brings in. Your purpose could be as transparent as to ensure your family’s future, to pay for college, to pay off the mortgage, or save enough for a secure retirement. Your purpose could be to fund a non-profit or build a school from your profits. Your purpose could be to eliminate cancer or wipe out malaria from your research. Whatever the case may be, your purpose must be more important to you than the money.
3. Your WHY
Why is it important to you to work hard this year? Because you are supposed to? Because you need to? Because people count on you?
When your WHY is really BIG, it will PULL you forward. You can’t help but work harder and get more done. Even if your WHY is the money – say you really want revenues to exceed $1,000,000 this year - go deeper. Dig for the emotion that drives you. Dig for the need behind that goal that achieving that goal will fulfill.
4. Be Passionate
When you meet a salesperson in any field, who are you drawn to: the formal person who repeats the company script with a straight face or the charismatic person who tells you their success story, engages you, and listens to what your needs are?
The reason you are drawn to the charismatic person is their passion. The more passionate you are about what you do and how you help people:
a. they’ll remember you;
b. they’ll believe you because you are sharing your passion sincerely;
c. they’ll look forward to engaging more with you to provide the solution they need.
Without passion, there’s no life in your business. With passion, you will attract the ideal clients and team members you seek. As the visionary and leader of your business, you must be passionate about your work. What makes you passionate about what you do?
After you know:
· what makes you invaluable
· what your bigger purpose is
· what your deeper why is
· and what you are absolutely passionate about
…then can you make your big plans for 2022. You can take responsibility for what you will do and where you are going. You can set clear goals aligned with your personal mission. And at this point, you can effortlessly lay out a roadmap to achieve great goals this year.
Need help developing your business goals after identifying those four criteria?
Chat with a business advisor for assistance with business planning! REDC provides no-cost business advising to businesses in New Hampshire. We can provide in person or virtual meetings and can assist with business advice, financing advice, marketing advice, and graphic design assistance. Learn more about REDC’s Business Advising here and request an appointment.
