Bright Ideas #105 – 6 Ways to Put Next Year into High Gear

1) Set a few, specific goals. Then reverse engineer a plan to get there. For example: decide you want to earn $x per month by a certain date. Then figure out how many clients or sales you need per week or month to reach that goal.

2) Make a plan of action for achieving those goals. Keep in mind that although any new action is good, if you really want things to start hopping you need to take massive action. So this year make a New Years Resolution to dive in with both feet and get cracking.

3) Build time into your schedule to work ON your business. Otherwise you’ll always be too busy working IN by putting out fires and taking care of clients.

Every Monday and Friday I my schedule is blocked out and avoid client work like the plague. Instead, I write newsletter articles, emails and marketing copy, handle project management, do planning, etc. Because if I don’t set aside time to work on my business, I never will find the time to do it.

4) Do three new things to market your business—and do them consistently. Find a networking group you love and go regularly (3 of my favorites in the Seattle area are:

*GKIC Inner Circle Marketing Meetings http://www.certifiednobsbusinessadvisor.com/local_meeting_times.php?,
*Women's Business Exchange (WBE) www.wbex.org
and
*eWomen Network https://events.ewomennetwork.com/event/calendar.php?lid=47

And yes, men are welcome at the women's events!)...

Start writing a regular newsletter...Get on a few social networking sites (LinkedIn, FaceBook, etc.)...Commit to sending out regular event notices and press releases...Whatever you decide to do, just make sure you keep doing them long enough for them to become habit. Then they are easy.

Believe me, when I first started this weekly e-newsletter, I spent about 3 months kicking myself for committing to something so time-consuming. But I knew what it would do for my business so I kept it up. Now I get ‘em out in under 2 hours each week.

5) You have to put new information in to get fresh ideas out. So commit to reading at least 4 new business books next year, subscribe to a new magazine, take a workshop or 2, buy some audios, or save up and go to that big seminar you’ve been dreaming of attending. You can find a list of all my upcoming workshops and events at
http://www.success-stream.com/events.htm

6) You are only one person. So don’t feel like you have to do it all yourself. Trust me, most people who are able to get tons done aren’t doing it alone (myself included).

The best thing I did last year (maybe even ever in my business) was hire a couple Virtual Assistants to help me get my work done. Learn more about how that works at http://www.marketerschoice.com/app/?af=679476.

And I’m always looking for ways to outsource the pieces they can’t handle. These days I have no employees, and about 10 subcontractors who help me get things taken care of.

The result? Last year I worked less, vacationed more, and made the same amount in the first year of this business that I did in the 4th year of my last business. Yippeeee!!

©2002-2006 Success Stream. All Rights Reserved. www.success-stream.com

Do you have a marketing, advertising or writing question you’d like to have answered? Email me and you might see the answer in a future edition of Bright Ideas.

Was this info useful?
=======================
If so, feel fr*ee to share it with your own list, post it on your site, post it on your blog, or add it to your auto responder. Just make sure you leave it intact and do not alter it in any way. All links must remain in the article.
And, you must include this at the end of the article:

©2002-2006 Success Stream. All Rights Reserved. www.success-stream.com

Please notify me at stacy@success-stream.com when my article is used, whether online or off. Thanks!