Making Business New Year’s Resolutions
I’m not really one to make “New Year’s” resolutions. I’m more likely to get an idea in my head on a random Thursday and stick with it for the next several months or years!
One day about 11 years ago I bought an exercise bike on a whim in an attempt to get in better shape one summer. That bike has been with me ever since, including taking the long trip from LA to Paris, and I’ve used it almost every day since I bought it (aside from my post-partum recovery period of course!).
My “stick-to-it-ness” can sometimes actually get me in trouble. I’ll often get so rooted in doing something that I’ve decided to do that I forget to raise my head above water to check in with myself to see if it’s working or if I still like it (don’t worry, I still love my exercise bike!).
Luckily, I’m learning from my past experiences and my new habit is to check in with myself periodically to make sure I’m still happy doing whatever I set up for myself. That’s actually one of the core pillars in my Elastic Planning framework that' revolutionized they way I run my business!
One of those check-ins earlier this year actually lead me to taking the leap to starting this business! I’d been struggling for a while to figure out what I really wanted to put my energy behind and after taking a pause from working (I thought perhaps being a full-time Mum was maybe what I wanted), the idea of starting my own business just clicked and it became my next obsession – or to tie back in with the beginning of this post, my resolution.
Looking ahead to next year
So, looking ahead to next year I have lots of ideas, dreams and goals I’m hoping to achieve.
One of my biggest goals is to continue to build this business in a way that complements and supports my family life. I started this business to fit within my life in a way that lets me be the Mum, Wife, Daughter and Friend I want to be.
Sticking true to this mission is core to all of the business decisions I’m making for next year.
I’m also working on finding some great partners to collaborate with to support my clients throughout their businesses. I want to work with people who are also really passionate about what they are doing and can provide complementary support to my offers for a more holistic experience for my people.
How I’d encourage you to think about your next year
Enough talking about me! I’d love to offer a few ideas for to you as you think ahead to next year:
Take a step back and think about how you’ve formed the habits you currently have.
Figuring out how we learn and how we stick to things can make it SO much easier to purposefully create new patterns and behavior!!
Perhaps you do really well with incentives? Great, then build in some treats to get you to take the actions you want to take moving forward.
Or maybe you love rituals and habits (guilty as charged!)? Wonderful, build in your new desired habit into your existing rituals!
Pick just a few, really exciting but also achievable goals.
It can be super tempting to take on a bunch of things that all sound good.
But pushing 12 things forward will be so much slower and harder to commit to than choosing just one action and giving it all of your energy to move it forward.
Plus, if you are really excited about that one thing, you’ll take any opportunity you can to work on it which makes the whole thing much easier!
Be thoughtful about who you take advice from
I love learning and if I get excited about something, I’ll soak up anything and everything I can about that topic. This is amazing and one of the greatest advantages of living in the age we’re in. But in the realm of business, it’s worth taking a quick step back before applying any advice to your business. What works for someone may not work for you. What feels good to someone may be super uncomfortable for you.
I’d love to encourage you to check in with yourself as you set your goals and see if it feels right to you. If the guidance you are seeking fits both you and your business, then it’s worth listening to. If not, that’s fine too – it will probably work for someone else.
Ok, stepping off my soap box…
Basically, I’d love to encourage you to check in with yourself and set your new year up in a way that gets you excited and moving in the right direction – rather than making resolutions that sound like the things we “should” be aiming for in the new year. To help you with this important work, make sure you get my free Life-First Business Assessment that walks through reviewing the essential parts of your business and picking the key areas you want to put your energy into moving forward.
