Do Something Different in 2010

So it is early January, 2010. The beginning of a new decade. A chance for a fresh start and to really achieve better results than last year. So what are you going to do different this year that will actually make a change in your situation more likely?

Having goals of how much extra profits you will make or how much extra time you will spend with the family are great and essential to drive you forward. But that is only half the story. The other essential element in the planning process is converting ones goals into practical action plans and tactics that affect your day-to-day activities. It’s what you ACTUALLY DO that really counts, not what you PLAN to do.

So take a stock of your activities last year in various parts of your business. What marketing activities did you undertake? What generated leads and what did not? How many leads did you convert into sales and what techniques did you use in the sale process? Did your customers pay on time? How many complaints did you receive?

Take stock of what worked in your business and what did not. Then decide to make a fundamental change or two in some areas and reinvent part or all of your business to drive change. Some areas you may wish to consider:-

Delegation.
Look at your lower level tasks that sucked up too much of your time last year. Decide to pass these tasks to someone else (either internal staff or an outside contractor), put in some measures and controls and focus more of your time where it will pay you more.

Plan more.
Make planning a weekly event, either with yourself or key staff. It is easier to make lots of small adjustments as you go through the year than put up with inefficiencies and try to make big changes once or twice a year.

Learn more.
Read more business books. Attend a seminar or two. Pick a topic you don’t know much about and aim to become proficient at it. Consider skills outside business as well. Take up archery or cycling or something.

Get rid of that frustration.
Maybe you have an old printer that jams all the time or a phone system that does not work properly. Consider throwing it our and getting a new one. The new equipment will be far more efficient, will reduce everyone’s stress and may even improve customer relations.

Network.
Join a business network group. This can be a low cost way of making business contacts and promoting your business, especially if you pick a group that is heavy on prospective customers and lighter on competitors. At worst you will get to talk to other business owners, share your frustrations and ideas and learn from others in a similar position as you.

Whatever you do in 2010 aim to do something DIFFERENT to what you have been doing for the past year, or years. If you keep doing to same stuff you will only get what you have always got, or possibly even less as the competition passes you by. Drop what hasn’t really worked and move on. Something better will turn up if you work at implementing new strategies and tactics consistently through the year.

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