Whether you’re just getting started or you’re a seasoned entrepreneur, these 5 New Year’s … [+]
Any new beginning can serve as an inspiration both for your personal and professional life. Whether you’re just getting started or you’re a seasoned entrepreneur, these resolutions can help you stay focused, stay motivated, and achieve your business goals:
1. Organize Yourself Better:
Getting yourself in order is the first obvious step toward getting your business in order.
It might be a great New Year’s resolution to start using and stick to a productivity system.
For example, Getting Things Done by David Allen is a classic and is highly applicable to startup founders.
Of course, there are many other viable self-organization methodologies. Once you find the one that works best for you, the hardest part (as is the case with most New Year’s resolutions) is sticking to it.
Productivity systems are great not just because they help you get more done, but because they help you stay on top of the demands of your business and to avoid burnout. This leads us to the second New Year’s resolution in this list:
2. Take Better Care Of Yourself:
Getting yourself in order doesn’t mean just organizing your priorities, tasks, and calendar. It means keeping your mind and body healthy.
Considering the average entrepreneur is 50% more likely to report having mental health problems such as anxiety and depression compared to the average person, this is easier said than done.
Nonetheless, there are plenty of things you can do to stay on top of your mental health as a startup founder.
Making this a priority will obviously not only help you stay on top of your business better, but it will improve your overall well-being and life satisfaction.
3. Seek Out New Business Opportunities:
Make a commitment to continuous learning and staying up-to-date on industry trends and best practices.
It’s easy to get fully consumed by the day-to-day workings of your business and to lose track of the big picture. It’s a great idea to set aside time to investigate other industries and businesses because it’s a great way to look for ways to expand your own business and find new sources of revenue, which is crucial in the long run.
4. Set Clear Goals:
Identify specific, measurable goals for your business and create a plan to achieve them.
For example, the goal could be “grow our revenue by 50%”, and the strategy could be to open a new product line for a niche market you know about.
Alternatively, you can decide to focus on customer satisfaction, which is always a correct approach when it comes to building and growing a startup.
In order to make the goal clear, it’s a great idea to start measuring your customer satisfaction and to think of strategies and tactics on how to raise your score over the next year.
5. Enhance Your Management Skills:
The first step in building a cohesive, collaborative team culture within your startup is to lead by example, and in order to do that it pays dividends to put active effort into improving yourself.
If there is one skill that is the most important for success as a founder, it’s your ability to communicate effectively and influence people.
Consequently, it might be a great resolution to seek out opportunities to learn and grow as a leader and mentor to your team in the coming year.
Of course, these are just a few ideas that you can pick from. Any specific resolution that startup founders might set will depend on their individual goals and priorities, so pick carefully according to your own situation and aspirations!
