Congratulations! You've almost passed the pressure of poorly planned resolutions and broken Dry January promises.
For better or worse, February is upon us!
Now is the time to stop and reflect on how far you have come and envision where you want your business to go in the future. This post is a big CHEERS for your incredible year to come and mine!
It will hold space for you to dream up your perfect year, too.
What Do You Value in Life? What Do You Value in Business?
It's important to know what you and your business are made of at the core. When you know what you value, why you do the work you do and what has brought you this far, it will be easier to stick with the values and goals that matter most.
We all have different strengths and are better off when we recognize them. Knowing what makes us unique can help us work better together on projects and achieve our goals faster.
So what does this mean for you?
Think about the things that make up who you are as an individual, then try thinking of them in terms of how they relate to your business.
The studio has expanded in many ways in the past year. This has brought new challenges and highlighted old ones, too. In 2023 I'm committed to valuing organization and systems in a new way.
Sure, this should be a given. Yet after 25 years in business, I'm still working at it. In case you need permission too:
If a quality like hard work doesn't necessarily fit into how customers view who you are but is essential for running your business successfully, please put some thought into it.
To walk the walk, we're all working on an all-encompassing SOP binder. It's yet to be exciting. But more systems now means more fun later.
I desire more time and space to enjoy the people I love this year! In fact, I'm editing this blog post from sunny Hawaii! Aloha!
What does the "perfect year" look like for YOUR small business?
Time to get clear on what your perfect year looks like. My clear vision is the sky meeting the water as far as the eye can see.
Defining your ideal year and then breaking it down into manageable chunks will help keep you focused on the things that matter most while letting go of unrealistic expectations.
What does success look like for YOUR business?
What are your goals for the year?
What do you want to accomplish? What are you excited about?
And what are your biggest challenges?
If any of these questions have been keeping you up at night or have been tumbling through your brain like luggage in the overhead bin, then here's what we're going to do:
Let's jump right in!
What would you need to do (or stop doing) to make your goals happen?
Think about how you want your life to be in a year. What would it look like? What would you do (or stop doing) to make that happen?
Ask yourself, "What's the best way for me to achieve that?"
Think about what you need to change or stop doing for these changes to occur, and then write down those things in your notebook.
Finally, think about how you'll know if the changes are working and whether they're worth continuing on with -- or if they're not working and whether they should be stopped or changed entirely.
I'm stretching myself and trying so many new things! Especially in the marketing department!
The Blog is new, I’m spending more time on the other side of the lens and we’ve even got online booking. This was exciting!
We’re even mixing up our Winter Stylized Session with a simpler set! Check out these promo shots:
Even when we don't choose the fastest path to success the first time, we're always getting one step closer to what does work.
How are you going to get there?
You've thought about the big picture for 2023. Now it's time to figure out how you will get there.
The first step is making a plan—and by "plan" I mean more than just a vague notion that you'll do your best and things will work out somehow. A good plan considers all your priorities for the year, including your health, finances, relationships, career goals, and anything else that matters most to you.
If your goal is travel (or any other big thing), research what destinations are best in which season or time of year—and whether they are practical given your budget or other constraints like kid school schedules or conflicting life events.
Once you have an idea of where you want to go and when then, break down each milestone into smaller steps:
What steps need to happen before booking flights? How many days should be spent at each destination?
How much money should be set aside for each trip? Have a backup plan if plans change (for example, You might not be able to book those tickets after all).
And finally—how will we know if we're on track toward achieving our goals? How will we celebrate our successes along the way?
For me, the trifecta of "getting-it-done" support has been:
Strategizing with my Coach
Strategizing with my Team
Releasing Control & Fear
Keep your business goals in sight even when you aren't working on them.
Proclaiming I'll have the most organized year yet and then being out of the country for most of January could be a recipe for a mental spiral. I thought about it, you know.
Instead, I'm leaning into excitement for where I'm headed and trust in my vision and team. When you create a goal, you give yourself permission to dream big.
But even after you've done that and made those dreams feel real by writing them down, they can still feel like they are out of reach and impossible. You know the phrase: "Out of sight, out of mind."
It's true for anything we want—the more we focus on it and visualize it happening, the closer it becomes.
Keep your business goals in sight even when you aren't working on them. Keep them from slipping away or forgetting about them; revisit them regularly so they stay fresh in your mind and don't get pushed aside by more urgent tasks at hand (like serving clients, or prepping your tax documents).
With this in mind, don't be afraid to change or let go if something doesn't seem right anymore—in fact most likely, that's precisely what will happen!
Now that you've set your goals, you can use them as a compass for how to lead your business.
Please keep them in sight and try to achieve them one step at a time. The great thing about having clear goals is that they give us direction, motivation, and focus even when we aren't working on them directly.
This means we will always be moving toward our perfect year! Cheers!