It’s New Year’s Eve. A time for celebration and a time to look forward to good things to come in the new year. An old Italian tradition involves throwing out old items – literally, out the window – to make room for the new things the universe has to bring in the new year. While I’m not suggesting that you throw your old college sofa out the second story window, it might be good time to evaluate where you’re at and where you can weed out some of the clutter in your life to make room for new, wonderful things to come your way. It’s a principle that is ages old, but still discussed in newer Law-of-Attraction materials.
Is your home or office cluttered? Do you have lots of stuff lying around that you never use? Consider making a donation to the Salvation Army or Goodwill. Someone might be able to benefit from your gently used items, and you’ll have a nice space to fill with something shiny and new.
The New Year is also a great time to set goals for the coming year. What would you like to see happen in your business within the next year? Would you like to take things to the next level? Try some new marketing tactics? Land five new clients? You do have goals floating around in your mind. Solidify them by writing them down on paper. Make a marketing plan. Writing things down shows you’re committed to making it happen – that’s one reason banks always want to see a written business plan before they’ll consider making a small business loan. Some people say writing things down in such a way as though it’s already happened is a great motivator. For example, “I am happily enjoying a sunny vacation to Cancun with my family, paid for with the extra money I made from the two new clients I landed in the first quarter of 2009.” Type it up, print it out, and hang it in your work station so it will be clearly visible as you’re plugging away.
Best wishes for a safe and happy New Year! You, as a dedicated business owner, can do your part in helping to turn our economy around in 2009. We at Stringfellow Creative look forward to helping you make it happen.
You’ve got to dedicate time to building your business. Business isn’t going to be knocking down your door without any effort on your part. Unless, of course, you’ve got a niche market totally cornered or you’ve been around awhile and are the absolute best at what you do, and everyone knows it. For most of us, that’s not the case (well, at least the part about everyone knowing we’re the best). You’ve got to make a consistent effort at marketing your business, or you may end up a casualty of this awful economic crisis that’s happening all around us.
You can’t allow yourself to become distracted by the day to day operations of your business. While those tasks are extremely important, you absolutely must set aside dedicated time each and every week to work on business development activities. If you truly do not have the time, hire someone! If you’re really that busy working that you don’t have time to work on building your business, you can afford to make an investment in a marketing consultant – such as Stringfellow Creative. It’s an investment, not an expense, because it should net you a solid return if you hire well. The great thing about consultants is that they’re not employees, and they can handle short or long-term projects. If you develop a good relationship, you’ll probably find yourself passing on regular assignments, but if it doesn’t work out, there’s no obligation to continue working with that person.
Otherwise, if the situation above doesn’t describe you – as in, you really can’t afford to hire outside marketing contractors, or you’re truly not that busy working, you’re just busying yourself with other things that could be rearranged – then you need to reevaluate your priorities and your daily routine. In the current economy, it is absolutely essential for any small business to be on top of their marketing efforts. Only the strong and the savvy are going to come through this economic crisis unscathed.
There are simple tasks that can boost your brand recognition that you can easily be conquering each week. Update your blog, submit an article for publication, make a few cold calls. Re-design your website, send out a few brochures in the mail, or attend a local networking event. Work on improving your search engine positioning. No effort will be wasted.
The bottom line is, no one is going to do it for you. You’ve got to advance yourself towards your own goals, and you can only do that by taking action.
