I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions.
Why? Because New Year’s is too late! Why spend weeks or a month planning what you’re going to do instead of getting right to it? Now is always a better time to start than later.
Say you decide on December 15 that you’re going to start exercising more in January. That means you spend at least 18 days not exercising. I say at least 18 because let’s be real: If you’ve waited that long, you’re probably not going to get started on New Year’s Day when you’re…tired from celebrating. That’s 18 to 20 days that you spent not getting healthier and not building a habit.
It’s the same in business. This time of year, I hear a lot of business owners talking about what they’re going to do in the New Year. Having a plan for the New Year is great, and we’ll talk about that more below. But that’s not an excuse to coast for the entire month of December. What you do in December has a huge impact on what happens in January.
So don’t wait! Set yourself up for success by leveling up your business now!
What Does It Mean to Level Up, Anyway?
When we talk about leveling up your business, what we mean is taking steps that increase your performance and move you to the next level of success. There are a lot of tactical ways to do that—revisiting how you bring in business, improving your closing ratio, automating processes, delegating—but I want to talk about a more strategic approach, one that has a greater impact on your business as a whole. One that makes tapping into those tactics even more effective.
My approach involves building momentum so that you’re not starting January from a standstill. To get into that state of grow, you do three things:
- 1. Get excited about your business again!
- 2. Get a plan of action.
- 3. Get going on your next three Waypoints.
Step 1: Get Excited About Your Business Again!
When you think about your business, how do you feel? Are you thrilled to dig in every day? Psyched about what’s coming? So passionate about what you’re accomplishing that you can’t stop raving to people about it? Or are you tired, stressed—maybe even bored?
If you’re not thinking in exclamation points about your business, you’ve lost touch with your Why—your vision and mission. I truly believe that losing touch with your Why is more dangerous to your business than the economy, who’s in office or what’s going on in the rest of the world. You may not be able to control external events, but you can react to them in a way that protects and grows your business. If you’ve lost that loving feeling for your business, nothing you do will have the impact it could have; you just won’t be able to put your all into it.
How do you get back to really loving your business? You remind yourself Why you’re doing this in the first place. Here are a few questions to ask yourself:
- How did you get into your business? You don’t have to be a superhero to have an origin story. There was a path you took to get into your industry, and it’s usually interesting, surprising or moving. Maybe you’re an investment advisor who saw your grandparents struggle with finances as they aged, and now you sell long-term care insurance so other seniors can afford the care they need. Whatever your story is, take a moment to tell it to yourself. Better yet, find a friend or mentor to tell it to. Reconnect with the purpose and passion behind what you do.
- What do you love about what you do? Sometimes, when we’re in the weeds with our business—worrying about income or dealing with employees or persnickety customers—we forget how much we love the product or service that’s at the core of our business. If you’re a website designer wrangling with code that just will not do what it’s supposed to, step away to remind yourself of the thrill of a beautifully crafted website that’s easy to navigate and helps users find the information they’re looking for. The things that are worth doing aren’t always easy; thinking about what you love about what you do helps get you back to the heart of it and pumps you up to work your way through the snarls.
- What difference do you want to make for your customers? This question isn’t about you. It’s about the people you serve. The most successful businesses can articulate why and how their product or service changes people’s lives. Depending on what you do, this might seem like making a big deal out of something that isn’t, but almost everything we do has a deeper purpose. Spraying a yard for mosquitos isn’t just spraying a yard for mosquitos; it’s creating a safe space for someone’s children to play and for people to gather together.
Rediscovering—or uncovering for the first time—your Why should get you excited again about your business. If it doesn’t, please
Hopefully, though, you’re feeling a sense of excitement or rededication to what you do. Which means it’s time to tap into that and make a plan.
Step 2: Get a Plan of Action.
This is where Strategic Planning comes into play. There are two scenarios here: You already have a Strategic Plan, or you don’t. Let’s take those one at a time.
You Have a Strategic Plan
Great job! You’re ahead of the curve. If you’ve been keeping up with your Strategic Plan all year and making progress on it, even better. You can skip ahead to Step 3. If not, dig your plan out and have a look at it. My blog Are You On Track or Off Track? can help you evaluate how you’re doing against the goals you set. Once you’ve done that, you can move on to Step 3, too.
You Don’t Have a Strategic Plan
Don’t fret; it’s okay, and you’re definitely not alone. When you’re running a business, it can seem like there’s never enough time to do big picture planning; there’s always something that has to be done right now to keep things going, or at least to keep your head above water. If that’s where you are, please read my blog 3 Things to Do for Your Business Today; it will help you get a handle on things. Also check out my podcast You Need an Assistant! (You Really Do.) and my blog Why I Love My Coach. You will never get where you need and want to be on your own. You need help.
If you aren’t currently a Strategic Planner, I urge you to become one. Having a Strategic Plan is one of the most important things you can do for your business. A good one outlines where your business is right now, where you want and need it to be in the future, how it needs to look like, act like and feel like in that future, and what specific steps you need to take to get it there. If you want to learn more about how to become a Strategic Planner,
For now, though, don’t let the lack of a Strategic Plan or the process of creating one keep you from taking action now. To level up in December, ask yourself What 2-3 things do I need to have accomplished by the end of the year to set myself up for success next year? The answer might be financial, like a revenue number you need to meet or a number of sales you need to close. It might be organizational, like needing to outsource a function or hire a team member. Whatever it is, it might seem pretty huge and insurmountable, especially this late in the year. It isn’t, because we have Step 3.
Step 3: Get Going on Your Next Three Waypoints.
Now that you know what it is you need to accomplish, you need to figure out how to accomplish it. The way we do that is by breaking a bigger goal down into smaller steps, or Waypoints. There are three elements to crafting a good Waypoint:
- 1. Good Waypoints are specific and actionable. Say your goal is to bring in $50,000 in revenue a month. Bring in more business isn’t a good Waypoint for that goal; it’s too general. Set three appointments each week is much better. It tells you exactly what you need to do.
- 2. Good Waypoints are measurable. Not only does Bring in more business not tell you a specific action to take, there’s no clear way to tell if you’re successful. When your Waypoint is Set three appointments each week, you can easily assess whether you did that or not.
- 3. Good Waypoints are realistic. A University of Chicago study found that successful people set reasonable goals, where unsuccessful people set lofty, unachievable ones. Say you’ve done the math and you’ve calculated that in order to bring in $50,000 a month, you have to set 15 appointments each week. If you’re not a dedicated salesperson, that’s probably not going to happen. That doesn’t mean that your goal of $50,000 a month is impossible; maybe your closing ratio or average sale is the issue: You need to set appointments with higher quality prospects or focus on increasing your average sale.
Speaking of being realistic, I recommend that you have about three Waypoints that you’re working on at a time. More than that and you’ll be back to feeling overwhelmed in no time at all.
A Quick Personal Note
Let me get personal for a moment. I used to work twelve-hour days, six or seven days a week. I told myself that’s what business owners do, but it wasn’t sustainable. I had no life, I was burning myself out, and frankly, I was so tired and stressed that I wasn’t doing my business any good either. Still, it took me a while to decide to do something about it.
I tell you this because I want you to know that I know what it’s like. I’ve lost my passion for my business before. I’ve made the mistake of not having a Strategic Plan. I’ve bitten off more than I can chew, chasing unrealistic goals. That’s why I can tell you for certain that you absolutely can take the steps I’ve outlined. It might be hard at first, but if you let your Why motivate you again and set the right Waypoints, you’ll find success. And it will get easier.
How did I stop working 80 hours a week? One step at a time. First, I stopped working weekends. Then, I carved out some time each morning for exercise—which, incidentally, gave me more energy and decreased my crazy-high stress level. Then I started taking time off for lunch. One step at a time, and now I work 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., I hardly ever work weekends, I’m traveling and exercising—and I’m making more money than ever. Listen to my podcast What Is Your 1 Thing? for advice on how you can make something important happen for you, too.
Bringing It All Together to Get Leveled Up
There are so many old sayings about acting now: Strike while the iron is hot. Carpe diem. There’s no time like the present. Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.
That’s because the longer we put something off, the less likely we are to do it. Or the more likely it is for it to become urgent and send us rushing around, stressed out because we’re rushing and not doing as good a job as we’d like. And of course, as I mentioned earlier, the more time you spend not getting the benefit of doing the work now.
So, how do we make it happen? By starting now! Get excited about your business, get a plan of action and get going on your next three Waypoints so you can reap the rewards of success sooner rather than later.
Do you want some help? Please