I repeat; do NOT make a New Year’s resolution, especially if it concerns your creative business ideas. Successful creative entrepreneurs don’t make New Year resolutions; they make strategic plans for the New Year.I guarantee you that the company that you currently or previously worked for did not set “New Year Resolutions” as a method to increase their revenue for the coming year. So why should you?
To keep it simple, do the following instead:
WRITE
Write down specific goals that you think are achievable in the new year. Keep these goals to a minimum, realizing that you can’t accomplish EVERYTHING. These goals will be the one, two or three things that you KNOW you can complete if you put effort behind them.
DEADLINES
Write the goals down on what I like to call a “L.T.P.M. System” or “Low Tech Project Management System”. This is just my fancy-shmancy term for an old-fashioned calendar! Whether you use an electronic version on your computer or cell phone or a no-frills version hanging in your kitchen doesn’t matter. What DOES matter is that you write down your goals, work backwards and identify milestones that lead up to the target, then give yourself deadlines for accomplishing tasks. Having goals with no deadlines will have you exactly where you are right now a year down the road with no progress.
OUTSIDE ACCOUNTABILITY
This is where the rubber meets the road. Your creative business or idea will involve others, whether they are customers or people working with you to help you reach customers. Bringing others “in” is where the idea transitions from just a cool thought in your head to a real initiative that involves the time and money of other people. Yeah, at this point you need to be accountable! This is where your goals and deadlines leave your calendar and become part of the calendars of others! Meetings that you schedule; follow-up and fulfillment that you agree to, all “force” you to make good on the goals you’ve set.
So, instead of making another empty resolution like everyone else will, do these three things instead if you really want results!
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