- Have a routine each morning. I recommend the 7 by 7 morning formula– which you can get here! Most productive and successful people have a morning routine wherein they connect with themselves before starting the day. Having a morning ritual allows you to get charged up to live your best life each and every day. Aside from that, it helps you stay on track to achieve your business goals. A quick peak at the science back 7 by 7 formula includes mindfulness, energizing and goal focus among other things. The number one rule of the 7 by 7 is to not use social media or technology before you complete these rituals.
- Try conducting a SWOT Analysis. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. If you feel stuck, maybe it’s about time to determine where you are at in your business (or your life). The SWOT looks at your business’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Make an honest assessment of your business (or your life). In order to determine your strengths, answer these questions; What are you good at? How does your offer give more than others in your field? Moving on to weakness, don’t hold back -pretend you are a competitor. Remember that the goal is to transform these identified weaknesses into strengths later on. Figure out where do you lack resources? in what areas can you make improvements? in what areas are you losing revenue? In terms of opportunities, ask yourself what new requests are your customers asking for? can you fulfill their needs? what are the technological advancements you need to learn? On to threats, where are you most vulnerable? Now think about your SWOT and plan your actions as a result!
- Set SMART goals, not just any goal. SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. It is a simple tool used by business owners in formulating an actionable plan for results. Please remember that the success of your business highly depends on designing an effective goal-setting strategy. Goal-setting is necessary if you want to get unstuck and move forward in your business. Goals take different times to achieve. Hence, you should monitor your progress regularly. Weekly monitoring is highly suggested. However, like some business gurus I don’t agree with the realistic- be crazy, dream big and go for it. Yes, on a week to week basis you need to be realistic but your big, hairy, scary goal should be just that!!
- Define what you are meant to do. How do you know if you are meant to do that thing? The test is simple really. You will know what you were created to do because it brings you to life instead of sucking the life out of you. Get a paper and pen and write down 100 things you are passionate about -now use the list to think about how you might apply that to your business.
- Create practical time management goals as well. To move forward with your business, you need a plan of action. This plan of action will also include allocation of your precious resources such as time, money, and energy. Never forget that your most valuable asset is your time! If you can manage your time efficiently, you will be able to do more in your business. Time management skills are necessary as you go through your day running your business. Also, if you schedule your time based on your goals, you can make an assessment if your goals are truly in line with your core values. If you find that your goals are out of line, then you can identify key areas that need some adjusting. Think about what you can delegate to others and then find a way to do so.
- Come up with a stellar customer service strategy. As Tony Robbins says, you want to create raving fans who are lining up to buy your products. At some point in your business, you will feel that you are not moving forward fast enough. Luckily, one way of addressing this issue is to design an excellent customer service strategy. You should have a well thought out and planned customer service strategy since this is a vital part of your business model. It includes relationship building, establishing communication, building trust, and resolving potential conflicts. Get your customers spreading the word- over deliver and you’ll create a fan base who loves everything you put out.
- Be grateful. Learn how to appreciate the people around you. If you develop a sense of gratefulness, you will realize that you are gradually getting your business unstuck. Be grateful of what you have accomplished so far. I like to write down three things I am grateful for each evening before I go to bed. If I am ever feeling stressed or overwhelmed I simply refocus on gratitude. Compared with 90% of the world’s population we really have so much to be grateful for.
- Don’t forget to measure your progress. I highly recommend you get regular customer feedback. Make it a part of your day-to-day routine to solicit opinions from your customers. Remember that there is always room for improvement. Welcome suggestions about how you could improve customer experience. You can collect your customer feedback in many ways – conduct surveys, email and ask for it or pick up the phone if you can.
- Make your “stop doing” list. Most of us know what we are supposed to be doing but we don’t know what we are supposed to stop doing. In business, you might get confused with the things you are supposed to do and things you are meant to do. Let your life be about what you are meant to do, not full of what you should do. One step of moving forward in business is deciding to eliminate all those distractions in your business. Think before you do things- is this just busy work or does it really move you towards your goals?
Give yourself some love. Give yourself some credit for having the desire to move your business forward. Write down 3 things that you love about yourself and why you want to achieve your business goal. This will keep you motivated, especially when you feel stressed out. Post this where you can see it and regularly reflect on your why and why you can do this (yes you can!)
- As Nike says -Just do it. Remember that you won’t be able to move forward if you are not willing to take a step forward. It all starts with you. Take the first step. Then take another one. Just keep moving forward. Soon enough you will realize you are a long way from where you are today. Small steps each day lead to massive progress over a year.
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