Business Steps to Success!

by Cynthia L. Torkelson

Each December 31st brings with it celebrations and reflections, along with the inherent possibilities that come with a new year. We step over into January 1st and, with that, a fresh start -- another opportunity to begin anew. As humans we are able to give ourselves this gift each and every year; if we're wise, we stop and review where we've been and where we'd like to go, both personally and professionally. We re-group and examine our lives, so that this year holds more than just the possibility of growth or more success but includes intentional actions or plans, enabling us to have dominion over our own destiny.

These fancy cerebellums give us the ability to make choices. And, in business, we all have the same two choices. to wait and hope that it all turns out well, with good intentions and faith, or to make it happen with specific intent and actions that cause growth to occur. We each hold the power to impact the success of our company, to determine the outcome to some degree, if we are truthful with ourselves and willing to focus on areas which require change or enhancement.

As a business advisor for so many years, I have noticed some common and chronic areas that frequently go neglected. By incorporating these as priorities and regularly taking action in these areas, a greater stage of success will be insured. In addition, when growth or mastery is achieved via our own intentions and enhanced abilities, we empower ourselves and experience the reality that we are not simply victims of fate or circumstances in business. Accomplishments achieved by our own intention and design give us the power to overcome any obstacles.

Create a Goal and Embrace Your Numbers

Few of us have a clear understanding of how numbers can not only clarify our priorities, but support our stability as well. Most of us would rather do anything else except track, analyze and understand our company statistics. We leave that to accountants, bookkeepers, coaches or accounting software, and only get involved, to any serious degree, when tax season swings around. Or we look at a report every so often that summarily tells us "what happened" in a certain time period. These actions are minimal at best, passive at worst, and rarely give us either the timely information we need or the ability to create a different outcome. As business owners, we must live, eat and breathe our relevant numbers. We must incorporate them into our daily lives, tracking those which have the greatest impact. Looking at a report at the end of every month is useful information but it's in the past tense, which gives us no ability to change the outcome, and is usually a general statement which gives little insight into what caused that outcome.

You don't need to be an accountant to better understand numbers, nor an MBA to analyze statistics. As a business owner, you know which numbers are important to your company and why. But that knowledge alone, without developing a useful structure for tracking, examining, learning and adjusting, robs you of the insight and power some of those numbers can provide. Similar to a new year's resolution to lose weight. we may want it and know what to do or stop doing, but it's less likely to happen if we avoid getting on the scale once a week or so, to determine if the actions we're taking are, in fact, producing the desired result. Looking at the number on that scale, regularly and repeatedly, not only "wakes us up" and reconnects us with the goal but also tells us, in no uncertain terms, how we are progressing. So if your company needs to gain weight by increasing revenues or lose weight by reducing expenditures, you should apply the same principles to examine your progress.

Begin by determining a number you want to achieve - starting with an overall objective for the year or even the quarter. Just be certain it's both realistic and yet still an achievement (i.e., wouldn't just happen anyway). It's simple to do this by referring back to past numbers or results. For example, to create a realistic goal for increased sales, first create an average by adding up annual totals and dividing by the same number of years. Increase that average by 25% and you've got a worthy goal for the year! Continue by breaking that larger goal into monthly or weekly objectives - numbers you can "get your hands around." Whatever the type of statistic you are following, once determined, examine what's related or connected to it. Just like losing weight, we know that both the amount of food and exercise is directly related. Without considering adjunct components, we aren't able to understand how all the "dots connect."

Next create a worksheet, either on paper or on computer, and document both the overall goal, as well as the weekly or monthly objectives (which, added together, equal the overall number). Expand the worksheet to include any other related statistics you want to stay aware of and examine as you go along . For instance, a goal to increase revenues may be directly connected to serving more clients - so how many additional clients, each week, are necessary to achieve that outcome? Determine that and track it as well. How many clients came in that week? What was the average revenue generated by each client? You may eventually realize that your pricing is either too low or inadequate for your goals; or that you need to incorporate additional services or focus on repeat business. Adding these relevant pieces to the puzzle gives you expanded understanding and tighter control.

Finally, copy that worksheet and use a new one every week or month, to track each time period, keeping the older records for very valuable, specific reference and analysis. And by including totals and averages at the bottom of your worksheet, you can compare the result of that time period against the previous month as well as against your overall objective, to determine whether or not you are on track or need to adjust for the coming month.

Speak or Write Your Achievements Daily

Celebrating the victories often gets lost in the day-to-day travails of keeping a company alive! As business owners, we have an unerring ability to hold onto that which didn't happen, wasn't done right, or isn't going well. But what we don't do, on a regular basis, is look at and rejoice in our daily achievements, small or large. In my experience, this is crucial in keeping our spirit alive in business.

Reflection is an important aspect of growth and learning - as necessary, perhaps more so, in business than in any other aspect of our lives. In order to succeed, we must evolve and strengthen our skills, in tandem with the growth of our company. Examining our progress, both strong and weak, is an essential tool in maintaining that balance. But we need to insure that we use this type of reflection to empower ourselves. Negativity, in thoughts or words, has a tendency to be debilitating if it's not used as a tool for development.

A simple practice that is very effective: When you complete your workday, leave the "what didn't go well" at your desk or in your office and, for the rest of the day, write down - or speak about - only what was good, great, brilliant, or successful about your company. This trains us, and our fancy cerebellums, to either search out the day's accomplishments and truly recognize them, or transform the breakdowns into a growth or learning experience, revealing the hidden gifts and insights we often overlook. Whether written down or shared with our mates or colleagues, we use the power of our words and our thoughts to authentically reframe our perceptions and regenerate our spirits. In addition, done regularly and religiously, this action with give you more energy and enthusiasm each day. Then, on a monthly or quarterly basis, list (in one fell swoop) all of the accomplishments and disappointments that occurred in your business. Use that information to create mini-goals for focus over the next month - to build onto the achievements and enhance the weaknesses. And hold onto these journals in order to review and celebrate, at years' end, how much you've achieved in your business life!

Move Out of Your Comfort Zone Regularly

Over time, and with all there is to do to keep a company alive, we fill up our days with regular patterns - usually cemented by what we prefer to do, know how to do and/or feel comfortable doing. We develop habits, or preferences, that often cause each day to seem very similar to the one before. But knowledge and growth do not occur in a vacuum, so it's essential to make time each day or week to strengthen skills as well as to learn how to intentionally create results.

This is the time to utilize the goals set forth in the beginning, to determine an activity which aligns with the action necessary to achieve those objectives. Look at your numbers and choose one action that will cause a different outcome in those statistics next week, next month or next quarter. But choose something that you wouldn't ordinarily do! Make five phone calls to business people you've never met and introduce yourself and your company. Go to a business gathering and rave about the successes your company has achieved recently (easy to do since you've been practicing). Connect with an old client or customer and revitalize that relationship.

Most importantly, whatever your action, be certain to include a specific request whenever appropriate. Ask and you will receive, as they say. We often communicate around what we're really talking about. and hope that our listener will get the drift and unburden us with having to ask. This not only tends to irritate people but it also wastes a lot of time. Get out of your comfort zone and be intentional! "May I give you a call this week to set an appointment?" "May I put you on our mailing list?" "Do you know of anyone who might be interested in our product?" You will be amazed at what you learn, what you receive, and ultimately, what you accomplish.

The bottom line: By incorporating these fundamental suggestions into your business this year, you enhance both your understanding and your capacity to make better choices as well as take preemptive actions. Better yet - you will have much more to celebrate come December 31st !

© Cynthia L. Torkelson 2000. A Partner For Profitability and Peace of Mind, Cindy has been providing counseling to business owners/executives, as well as individuals with personal life issues, for over a decade. (She can assist with setting up those worksheets!)
Call 919/493-0629 or BizLessons@aol.com .