How often do you start a new year with all good intentions of defining your new year’s resolutions? All too often, business owners (and individuals) start the year off with many things they want to change, only to find things are turning south within a couple of weeks.
This is because, generally, we set ourselves too many goals to achieve and too quickly; goals that might not be sustainable. Because the leap is so great, it’s harder to stick to it. If you want to make 2021 your year, then make manageable, incremental changes.
To help you achieve more and become more productive, here are five tips to help you get through the year ahead.
Review your business plan and set goals
When did you last review your business plan? Did you write it and then file it, never to be seen again?
Start this year off by redefining your business growth strategies and goals. This will help you keep on track. Regularly review it and share the successes (and failures) with your team so that everyone is on board and knows the part they have to play.
Break down your plan into actionable steps
Once your plan is defined, how will you reach each of your goals? If you want to get new customers, you may need to look at your marketing strategy. There are many online tools available such as HubSpot and Hootsuite to help you set up workflows, landing pages, etc., to easily capture the digital data required to help you convert leads into customers.
Prioritising
Knowing what to prioritise is key. If everything is a priority, then it’s easy for nothing to get done as you procrastinate over what needs doing first. It becomes difficult to see the long-term forest for the short-term trees. Prioritise what’s important and urgent. Below is a useful diagram of how to deal with tasks according to urgency and importance.
URGENT | NOT URGENT | |
IMPORTANT | DO FIRST | SCHEDULE FOR LATER |
NOT IMPORTANT | DELEGATE | ELIMINATE |
Remember, however, that prioritisation should be flexible, as you may need to interrupt low-priority tasks for urgent must-dos.
Delegate
Sometimes it’s easier said than done, but as a leader, you must learn to delegate. You may think it’s quicker to just do it yourself, but as a business owner, you likely already have a long to-do list, so get others helping out. Delegate and outsource tasks that others can handle, so you have the time to focus on the core parts of your business.
Remove the time wasters
Are you spending too much time fixing the printer or are you constantly chasing suppliers? If things are taking up too much of your time, then change how things are done or replace them. Use only the things that work for you and your business.
If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that we need to be flexible and able to adapt to change, and pretty quickly! Keep that thought process going for 2021 and be prepared to make changes along the way. After all, we’re all in this together.
Make Bartercard a part of your 2021 goals
At Bartercard, our network includes successful businesses from every industry and sector you can think of, so we’ve seen how and why new year’s business resolutions succeed. For more business tips and ideas from the experts at Bartercard, visit our blog.