Photo by Kerrie DeFelice on Unsplash

The beginning of the year is usually when people start to reflect on changes they want to make. But, New Year’s Resolutions can end up falling flat rather quickly. According to some statistics, at least 80% of them will fail within the first two months of the year.

Good intentions aren’t enough to get you where you want to be (and obviously neither are resolutions)!

Businesses evolve and change and business owners do too. Do any of these apply to you right now?

  • You feel overwhelmed
  • You’re procrastinating about making business decisions
  • You’re always chasing the next “hot” new thing (shiny object syndrome)
  • You’re not excited about your business anymore
  • Your market has changed
  • You’ve considered closing your business
  • You’ve lost interest in marketing (or selling)
  • You ask everyone what they think you should do
  • You feel like you’ve been left behind in your industry
  • You change your offerings to fit what someone else is doing because their thing looks so much better

Every entrepreneur who’s actually been in the trenches has experienced some (or all) of these things.

When I started my business, I had no idea what I really wanted to do. After years as a corporate employee, it was a bit of a shock to step out of that structure.

Not long after I left corporate, I became a tech writer contractor. With my IT experience, writing experience and my English degree, it made the most sense.

But after I completed several coach training courses, I decided to try that. It seemed like the thing to do since everyone I was following at the time was a business coach.

Unfortunately, I kept changing what I was doing to match whoever I was following. As you can imagine, that didn’t work out very well.

I never stopped to think about how to align my personal goals with my business goals. So, I was left jumping from thing to thing. Never feeling quite satisfied and usually disappointed when my bottom line didn’t reflect my efforts.

It’s one thing to change direction because you know it’s time to take a different path, quite another to change because you’re following the crowd.

What finally worked for me was to create a five-step plan. I connected my intentions for my business (and my life) to measurable goals. For the small business owner, the professional journey is also a personal one. Each challenge will force you to grow and evolve, and those changes will be reflected in your business.

Afraid of making the “wrong” decision? Try these steps:

#1 What’s your vision?

What is your plan for the next year? Don’t pick what you think you should be doing. What do you really want?

#2 Trust yourself.

Don’t spend a lot of time asking everyone else what to do. You’ll get so many answers that you’ll end up confused and overwhelmed. There’s nothing wrong with asking for feedback or getting help with brainstorming ideas. But, you have to be willing to trust your own judgement.

#3 Get creative.

It’s hard to get a different result if you do the same things over and over. If you want to step into something new, you’ll have to stay open to opportunities that might come in ways you’ve never considered.

#4 Set goals.

Let’s say you’ve decided to offer a new service or product. What steps will you take to get from where you are to where you want to be?

#5 Take action.

Gathering information is great, but it’s too easy to get stuck there. Endlessly thinking, planning and prepping is a way to stay safe when you’re not feeling confident about making a move. Even the smallest step forward is good. Take one step. Then another. Then another.

Your values and ideas about how you want to show up in life can’t be separate from your business goals. Small business owners don’t have that kind of distance, and I don’t believe we can afford to be that detached.

Back in corporate, I worked in companies with thousands of employees. I often had goals on the job that were totally separate from what I really wanted to do. Yes, there were times when my workplace goals did line up with my life goals, but most often than not, they didn’t. That’s what ultimately led me to leave and go on my own.

Small business owners have an amazing opportunity to be connected to their customers. To make changes quickly without layers of bureaucracy and overhead. But even better, we can create brands that reflect who we are and what we believe in.

In that way, the entrepreneur’s journey can be a reflection of who we are, in addition to the products and services we provide.

Change isn’t easy. Even when we want it, it’s tough to take those steps into the unknown. But being pushed out of our comfort zones can be the best (and toughest) part of business ownership.

By breaking the process down into manageable steps, you won’t get stuck in overwhelm or anxiety. Your vision will show you where you’re going, and your goals will provide a roadmap to get you there.

If this resonates with you, I hope that you’ll join me for my upcoming online class, “Five Steps to Making Changes in Your Business.” 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Deborah A. Bailey is a writer, coach, and author of several novels and non-fiction books, including “Think Like an Entrepreneur: Transforming Your Career and Taking Charge of Your Life.” She’s the host of the Women Entrepreneurs Radio™ podcast where she has conversations with small business owners and industry leaders. Learn more at DBaileyCoach.com.