New Year Plan of Action
The world is abuzz with New Years resolutions. The paper and other media are full of weight loss tips and tricks. Fitness gyms are seeing their annual spike in new memberships as the goal to loose weight is one of the yearly top new year resolutions.
Most of us know that new year resolutions do not always work. We get excited about changing our habits, but we easily fall back into the bad ones. A friend of mine stated that she is not going on a diet, but making a lifestyle change. There is a huge distinction in the words we use. A diet is seen as something negative and temporary, whereas a lifestyle change is more permanent in nature and uses more positive wording.
How can you apply the concept of lifestyle change to your business? What are some goals you have for you business that you have not been able to reach? Is it because you don’t have enough time or because you haven’t had enough cash on hand to make the investment? Whatever the reason, consider what you can do today to make the goal a reality.
Do you want to write a book (or any other type of professional publication)? If so, put a block on time on your calendar to write for 30-60 minutes each day. If you schedule the time you will be more likely to make the time.
Do you need more time to work on your business rather than working in your business? Working on your business means generating revenue whereas working in your business means you are doing the mundane tasks that you truly should outsource. What can you delegate to someone else? Maybe your monthly bookkeeping? Or maybe some marketing? Consider how much your time is worth, then compare that to what you would pay someone else for their expertise. Let’s say your billing rate is $150 per hour and it takes you 2-3 hours to input your daily receipts into Quickbooks (TM) each month. A bookkeeper might only charge you $100 for the same task. By doing the accounting yourself you are actually costing your business $200-350 each month.
Where can you create some efficiencies this year? Make some lifestyle changes to your business in 2011. Happy New Year!
January 4th, 2011 at 12:00 pm
Happy New Year, Kelly!
We spent all last month doing our Strategic Planning for 2011. Taking a step back, looking at what we did well, what we didn’t do so well. Planning for changes and improvements in 2011. It was a really good exercise. 3rd and 4th qtr 2010 were tough for us; we operated at a loss. Sometimes it’s easy to get discouraged and want to quit. But the strategy planning has been fruitful. In terms of efficiency, our main focus this year will be on “strategic coherence” – making sure services are unified and aligned. We’ve already started to see the benefits.
Eric Bryant, Director
Gnosis Arts Multimedia
January 4th, 2011 at 12:56 pm
Hello Eric. Happy New Year to you as well. Congratulations on creating a strategic plan for 2011. You are probably well ahead of many business owners. It is important to review the prior year to see what you did well and didn’t do well. This helps plan for the future.
While I understand operating at a loss is discouraging, you did operate in the black for at least half of the year. Considering these economic times, you should be proud of your accomplishments.
It sounds like you are on track to make 2011 a great year. Putting your focus into strategic coherence by aligning and unifying services should prove to be beneficial for your employees and your customers.
January 5th, 2011 at 1:35 pm
Hi,
I own a small handyman service. 2010 was my first year operating. I managed to start with less than $100, stay in the black all year, and earn a 4 figure net income
Oddly, my end of year balance sheet showed a $2.48 negative equity ?!?!? For what it’s worth, my total liabilities are less than $500. Do you think a “Lifestyle Change” would benefit my little business?
I’ve had 4 sucessful ventures in my life, and sure would like this one to be sucessful venture # 5
Thank you, Rod
January 5th, 2011 at 3:26 pm
A lifestyle change for a business means running lean, but smart and can help small and large businesses. It’s not just about reducing expenses, it is about spending money wisely. And using excess cash to grow your business. Sometimes spending money helps you to make money, as the example regarding accounting services showed.
Congratulations on making a profit in 2010, it is a great accomplishment to start a business and be in the black the first year. I’m guessing, without seeing your balance sheet, that the equity balance is negative because you took cash out of the business in the form of owners equity. Consider using that cash to grow the business instead of taking it out of the business.
Best of luck to you in 2011. Hopefully you continue to see positive results and growth in your 5th venture!