Business Growth
Forget Making New Year’s Resolutions
By Cynthia Renee Frazier
January and New Year’s Resolutions go together like white on rice. Millions of people will make a fresh start with a list of dos and don’ts for the coming year. Small business owners too will make long lists of goals they want to accomplish in their business for the coming year. Then before the first quarter is over, it’s life or business as usual.
There are several reasons resolutions don’t work. One is that resolutions are usually things that are visible with the natural eye. When we can see something, we tend to lose the ability to fantasize and dream about it. Another reason resolutions don’t work is that resolutions are typically tied to weaknesses. Resolutions come from those things that we really don’t like or want to do. Resolutions come from the guilt we feel for doing or not doing things that hold us back or push us forward. Yet, in the euphoria of the New Year, we convince ourselves that somehow it will be different this time.
Well it will be different if you start the New Year by focusing on your vision.
Vision is so important to the quality of life and equally as important to the success of a business. Vision is the driving force for all you do. Your vision reflects your passion. Vision is the dream deep down inside that you can only see with your eyes closed.
Writing a vision statement is just as easy as writing resolutions. Think of your vision statement as your pie in the sky. Start by asking yourself a few questions. Why is it you want to do what you do? For whom? What outcome do you want as a result? And when you write your answers, avoid using words or phrases like someday and possibly. Instead, write your statement as if it is a reality right now. Don’t bog yourself down with the how to in your vision statement. Save that for your goals and objectives. Do make your vision statement big and bold. Cover your eyes and imagine what you would love to be, do and have in your business and in your life. Then write it down. You will find that when mid year comes, you are just as motivated to work toward your vision as you were the day you wrote it.
My vision is to provide tools for one million women business owners to grow their company so that they can have more time to spend with their family, be inspired to give 20% of their profits to the charity of their choice, and to leave a legacy of business success for future generations.
Cynthia Renee Frazier is the Author of 101+ Proven Growth Strategies for Small Business Entrepreneurs, and proud sponsor of Walk the Walk for Financial Freedom www.BusinessWomensGrowthSummit.com. Visit her blog to learn more about business growth strategies. Share your growth dilemmas at www.EnergyTourCafe.com.
