Where Will You Be This Time Next Year?

At the close of our first fiscal quarter, it’s a good time to re-evaluate the course you’re on for the year. The only difference between where any of us are right now and where we’ll be next year is what we start doing differently today. You’ve got goals and ambition, but that’s not enough to elevate and sustain your business. No, what you need more than that is a successful strategy for improvement.

What Does That Look Like?

First of all, you need to be able to see the big picture. It’s not the first time you’ve heard that. Practically every diet and multi-level business plan will tell you success depends on your ability to visualize yourself in your new situation. They often suggest a picture of the bathing suit or car you desire be taped right to the front door of your refrigerator door or bathroom mirror so that you see it and re-commit to your goals frequently. Matter of fact, after years of smoking I was eventually able to quit by writing myself lipstick messages on my bathroom mirror every day. It was actually very effective.

So, where do you want to be next year, and can you see it from here? Or are you simply going to be satisfied that your company is still in operation? Those are possibly two very different scenarios.

For those of you who are still aiming for greatness, keep your goals clearly ahead of you at all times. Here’s a few things I know from experience that work:

• Look at the big picture and aim high for next year.
• Break that into quarterly goals.
• Communicate effectively to your team where you all must be monthly to meet those goals.
• Make your weekly objectives adhere to your overall plan.

Many work at home businesses understand the value of the big picture, but fail to break it down into bite size pieces, citing the difficult nature of working out client deadline issues and paycheck variables. That’s really backward thinking.

Next quarter, instead of plugging business objectives around your clients’ needs, plug your clients into your business objectives. For instance, make sure that you’ve included all the necessary time involved for research and planning needed to fulfill your big picture when you’re processing proposals and filling your calendar. This practice will cause you to exceed your own expectations and keep you on target for the week, month, quarter, and year.

Here’s to kicking butt in 2009!

How is your company measuring up to your goals?

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