I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! We made it! That in itself is a blessing. We can all agree that 2020 was a year full of changes, awareness, love, loss and accountability that most of us weren’t prepared for but had to experience. With that being said, let’s give ourselves a round of applause for all making the best of that difficult year that was thrown on us. Now on to the New Year and New Years Resolutions for small business.
Normally, when the clock would strike at midnight, we are quick to scream “NEW YEAR, NEW ME” as we ring in the new year with family and friends. But in a way, the pandemic has stripped us of that sense of togetherness that we value. This makes me curious to know how you brought in your new year. How did you ring in the new year? For me, I worked, got home, opened my box of red wine and enjoyed an evening watching Netflix. Good times! If I’m being honest, I enjoyed the quiet pace instead of worrying about what expensive party to attend if my hair was slain or which outfit to wear so that I can stunt some of these heffas. Maybe in 2022, you might see your girl in more glam, doing it up in all her glory.
Anyways, back to the topic! The new year is the time where most of us dive into our New Years Resolutions, but typically by the third week, we are most likely tired, dehydrated and our edges are falling out because we place way too many exceptions on ourselves. Now even though most resolutions can be frustrating to complete, I still think that it is possible to stick to your New Years Resolutions. This is why I have come up with 3 useful tips that might make 2021 a success for you and your small business.
Focus on ONE resolution at a time | New Years Resolutions
The new year for most is the opportunity to press the refresh button and see where we can improve. Unfortunately, we sometimes place way too many things on our plate which will lead to procrastination, frustrations and discouragement. So, ladies and gentlemen, I would employ you all to choose just one resolution at a time that you would like to accomplish this year and stick to it. The resolution can be mentally, physically, spiritually and dare I say sexually (Note: I am in no way encouraging you to belong to the streets when I stated sexual, I’m just saying you should find ways to improve your well-being 🙂 ).
This is probably the most fundamental part of making resolutions.
If you try to change a bunch of habits and behaviours on the first day of the year, chances are you might overwhelm yourself and burn out fast. Don’t try to tackle everything at once. After all, you have the whole year ahead of you! Start with one resolution and look at the micro-goals or steps you need to take to make it happen. Once you’ve achieved or started working on that resolution, you can move onto the next one. You can even schedule those resolutions in your planner or any device on your phone so that you can keep track of them. As small business owners, we face many challenges in the day-to-day operations of our business. By focusing on one task, we can make these difficult challenges easier. Let’s practice this new resolution of focusing on one thing and perfect it before moving to the next one.
MAKE IT A S.M.A.R.T GOAL
For those who do not know what S.M.A.R.T goal stands for, fear not your girl is here with a quick educational session. A Smart goal is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. A smart goal comes with an accountability factor and will allow you to break down your goal and successfully achieve it. I want to explore the importance of SMART goals by dissecting them. A SMART goal can both be set on a business and personal level, but we’ll be focusing on your business SMART goals with your New Years Resolutions.
The “S” in a SMART goal stands for “Specific.”
From childhood, we are taught that to remember anything, we should write it down and use action words. Being specific in your goals allows you to control the narrative that you won’t achieve. Let’s say that your goal is to get ten new clients by the end of the first quarterly calendar year, instead of saying “I want more clients,” you can say, “I going to sign up ten new clients within this next quarter”. Being specific and using action verbs allows you to focus on what exactly your need to do. When operating a small business either by yourself or a team, make sure to ask yourselves these questions to obtain the results you seek when it comes to your specific goal. These questions are;
- What needs to be accomplished; what’s the objective?
- Who is responsible for completing or driving this task or project?
- What steps will you or your team take to achieve it?
Once you have those answers to these questions you can move to the next phase.
The “M” in a SMART goal helps you clarify and quantify your efforts so you can “Measure” them. This by far one of the most important parts of your SMART goal. In the example above, we can add the additional note that your goal is to increase, by ten, the number of new clients. Although establishing a target may seem obvious, many fail to add this important component to their goal framework. Measuring your progress will help achieve your goal.
The “A” in SMART goals represents the goal’s “Achievability” factor.
This step is a reminder to check to make sure the goal is within reach and also decide if your goal is practical. Let us still use our goal of obtaining ten new clients by the end of the quarter as an example. You can both measure and see if this goal is achievable in the time you set for it or see if you need to make changes to achieve your goal. I would advise you to ensure that you are both ambitious as well as practical when placing your goal for your small business
The “R” in SMART goals addresses the “Realistic” factor of the goal.
As small business owners, we dream of quick success, but soon reality comes knocking and we are forced to focus and to re-adjust our vision. Not being practical nor realistic in our goal will make the path to success for obtaining our goals difficult. Let’s say that our overall business plan calls for increasing profitability, instead of sales, perhaps new customers aren’t your primary goal. Instead of focusing on new customers, you may need to focus on the retention of existing customers and their profitability per sale transaction, price increases, or reducing production costs. Make sure the goal you set makes sense for you. Your girl is always trying to forecast how the next few months of my business will look like. That way I have an idea of what to expect and room to make adjustments when need be. In business and life, we must be practical, tragic and consistent in what we want to accomplish.
The “T” in SMART goals references the “Time” aspect of your goal.
Setting a time frame for any goal is critical especially when you own your own business. This not only helps you set your end goal, setting a specific time where you want to complete a goal will combine all the SMART key features that you have already set-in place, and it will provide you with accountability.
INVESTMENT
Investment in your small business doesn’t have to be financially driven. There are numerous ways that you can invest in your small business and keep your New Years Resolutions. The first one would be learning a new skill that is geared to the betterment of your business. This can range from photography, marketing, accounting and so forth. As small business owners, we tend to wear many hats, so we are constantly seeking new ways to improve our business. Make 2021 a year where you want to be well versed in your business. Investing in your business can also be finding a mentor. This is one of the most powerful addition you can have to propel your business. Get yourself a mentor who has many years of experience in their respected fields. Watch, absorb and retain as much knowledge as you can. Mentors are critical for any growth. Find one and see how your business is at the end of the years.
I didn’t want to come here and regurgitate the same New Year’s Resolution that everyone and their mama will be posting. Not saying what they post isn’t relevant, but I wanted to write about how small businesses can benefit from resolutions.
What is one New Year’s Resolution that you want to accomplish this year? Let me know in the comments below. Let’s Make 2021 a success!
