The start of a new year is a great time to review your previous year in business and set a new vision for the coming year. New year resolutions get a bad rap for being overly positive goals that never actually get done, but it doesn’t have to be that way. The difference between a new year resolution that gets accomplished and one that doesn’t is the goal-setting process. So instead of giving up on new year resolutions entirely, why not try a different way of setting them?
Below is a short but effective visioning process to help you make 2020 your best business year yet.
Step 1: Reflect on the Past
Pull out your journal, laptop, or a piece of paper and take a few minutes to answer these questions. Your answers can be as simple or detailed as you like. Do what feels right to you.
- What were some of the high and low points for your business in 2019?
- What are some entrepreneurship lessons you learned throughout the year?
- Which things do you want to take with you and what do you want to leave behind in 2020?
Step 2: Observe the Present
The next step is to assign a rating to each major area of your business based on your current state. On a scale of 1-10, rate the following:
- Client / Customer Relations
- Product / Service Quality
- Team Collaboration
- Sales / Marketing
- Finances
- Overall State of the Business
Step 3: Envision the Future
After you’ve assessed the present, it’s time to envision the coming year in business and what you want it to be. Write a short story (a few paragraphs) about your ideal year and write it in the present tense as if it’s happening right now.
For example, if getting more clients is something you want, one of your paragraphs might start like this: “I am spending more time networking and am landing more clients per week than 2019.”
Try to take at least fifteen minutes for this part of the exercise and think about what you really want to do. How do you want to feel? What would be fun? What would be a worthy challenge?
Step 4: Set a Theme
In our blog post about start-ups, we talked about the importance of having an overarching vision for your company and product. A vision guides you like the North Star. It keeps you from getting lost in the day-to-day by reminding you of what you’re working towards.
The final step is to give your 2020 a theme. Some examples could be: “2020 – The Year of Expansion and Revenue Growth” or “2020 – The Year of Mindful Habits and Work / Life Balance.”
Write down your theme and pin it somewhere where you will see it everyday.
Ready for an amazing 2020?
At AirSend, we like to give credit where it’s due. This process is something we first discovered on an excellent business coaching Instagram. You can view the original post here. You can also click here for a longer, more personal and detailed version of the process.
We hope that your 2020 is off to a great start and that it only gets better from here!
Happy New Year from The AirSend Team!
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