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STOP! The #1 Thing You Can Do For Your Business Success In 2016

You and I both want 2016 to be our best year yet. But how will we make that happen? What’s the #1 thing we can do right now to help you reach your business goals?

The #1 thing you can do right now to assure your success in 2016 is to STOP. That’s right, you need to stop, take a breath and take some time to PLAN.

Without a plan you are going to be less effective. Without a plan you will become more easily distracted. Without a plan you will most likely not reach your goals for 2016.  If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Some of us are so frenetic in our daily lives with our work, our family, our relationships, our health, that we sometimes forget how to stop, and how to focus.

Here are some steps to help you focus and plan:

1. Dedicate the time. Not minutes, not hours, but several days. Start with dedicating 2-3 hours to nail down your goals for 2016.  Schedule that time right now before your calendar fills up. It might not even take that long, but schedule it anyway.
2. Schedule 2 x four-hour blocks on separate days where you will do nothing but 2016 planning. Schedule it now, you won’t regret it.
3. Now keep your appointments.
   1. Hammer out your goals. Make sure they are SMART Goals –  click here to learn how to create SMART Goals.
   2. Develop your 2016 plan.
      1. If you can’t map out how to reach your goals try working backwards from the finished goal.
      2. Start at a high level. Once you’ve got the big milestones you should fill in some smaller waypoints.
      3. Now put dates against the milestones and waypoints.
      4. Review and present your goals and plan to a trusted associate, coach, mentor or spouse in order to get a sanity-check.

Then take a breath, stretch your business brain a bit, prepare yourself, and leap forward into 2016 knowing you have solid goals and the plan to reach those goals.

None of this could have happened if you didn’t STOP.  As you move through the year don’t forget to STOP,  take a breath, do a health check on your business, it’s goals, and your progress on your plan. It’s not only good and healthy, it’s necessary to ensure you stay the course and achieve your goals.

You can do it!

Let me know how it goes.

Want to Learn More?

Download our 7 Steps to Small Business Marketing Success – click here

Want to discover ‘How to Build A Marketing Plan’ – click here