How to Make Next Year Your Big Vision Year
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How to Make Next Year Your Big Vision Year
As we look forward to relaxing over the holidays, it’s the perfect time to put together a dynamic plan for your small business to get big results next year. Many small business owners are so busy they don’t take time to visualize, create and plan their path forward. Lack of planning is proven to lead to stagnation, burn out or failure. Take the time to answer this question carefully--if everything goes well for your business in coming year, ideally what would your life look like at this time next year?
Right now, block out several hours before December 31st. Here’s what you need to do during that time.
Start by going to http://www.smartrack.net/BigVisionTool1.htm and follow the instructions for the Big Vision inner focus techniques through Day One. This exercise will clear away stress, calm your mind, create focus, and guide you through a powerful visioning process to help you see where you want to go nest year. For maximum results repeat this process often. This will prepare you to build your grand plan for next year.
Before you begin planning, look back carefully at this year. As Dr. Phil might say, "did it work for you"? Be brutally honest about what’s working and what’s not, in your life and business. Admit to habits and patterns that need to change. Look at areas like 2004 gross sales, cost of sales, profit margin, business growth, your income, hours worked, business problems and challenges, financial planning and accounting, life balance, use of resources and employees, budget, expenses, marketing, personal skills, current products and services.
Now you’re ready to start planning. If you’ve done the visioning techniques above, write down in detail how you hope your ideal business and life will look in a year. Then begin planning how you’ll get there. If your plan includes well thought out strategies and actions, you’ll be able to focus on those specific activities which will make your business soar. Here are a few suggested areas to explore:
Financial Planning
Visiting your accountant once a year is not financial planning! Financial planning includes:
* projecting your gross sales and cost of sales
* projecting all expenses
* deciding what will sell and what your pricing strategy will be
* projecting what kind of capital you’ll need to grow your business where you’ll get it.
This would include your marketing budget, payroll, technology, office rental and utilities, taxes, consultants and training, etc.—everything you’ll need to spend to reach your profit goals.
Often the most overlooked area in a small business planning, financial planning doesn’t need to be complicated or overwhelming. An experienced accountant or financial consultant can help you if you’re having difficulty.
Marketing Planning
The only way experience significant small business growth is to start with a detailed marketing strategy and plan. A reasonable percentage of next year’s budget must be earmarked for marketing activities. If your small or solo business is fairly new, this budget needs to be more than when you are more established. Include all marketing expenses such as advertising, website development, maintenance and hosting, printing expense, networking, trade shows, giveaways and gifts, etc. As information streams faster to everyone, new marketing strategies are emerging to align with this information explosion. To compete you need to carefully rethink and update your marketing strategy regularly.
Systems
Start now to act as if you’ve already reached your Biggest Vision for your small business. What systems need to be in place to run your business at that level? Think about putting those systems into place now. Define each function that needs to be fulfilled to run your business like a well oiled machine and begin developing systems for each. By understanding each function, who will handle it and how it fits into the big picture, growth will happen without a lot of upheaval and confusion.
Employees and Outsourcing
As your small business grows, you’ll need help. Decide if you’ll need to hire employees, or if you’re getting the most productivity out of the employees you already have. Maybe you’ll need outside help, a business coach, financial consultant, sales person, web designer, graphic designer, virtual assistant etc. Perhaps developing new skills and researching appropriate training options is important. Contemplate each detail of your Big Vision and try to imagine what your needs will be.
If you’re letting yourself off the hook because you think you don’t have time to plan, you’re only fooling yourself. How do I know? Because I was guilty of doing the same thing! I’d see the big picture, but detailed planning seemed too time consuming. Once I started following my own advice I saw a dramatic increase in profits, I had more free time and more fun. This happened in my second business and I’ve been doing it ever since.
I wish you nothing but the best next year for your small business. Make it the year you challenge yourself to reach heights you never thought possible!
How to Make Next Year Your Big Vision Year - To learn more about this author, visit Janis Pettit's Website.
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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