Now that we are quickly approaching the New Year, it's that time when most of us initiate our plans & preparation outlining our objectives in anticipation of the New Year. Whether your intention is to start a business & become an entrepreneur or to reinvent an existing business & take it to the next level; they are some important things to keep in mind. I have put together the top 11 Fundamentals that you must keep in mind in order for you to succeed. ‘Work smart & achieve more in 2011'
1. Develop an unassailable MINDSET – This is the beginning of all great things; disregard negative influences including family & friends and be exceptionally careful who you associate with. A personal philosophy of mine is to never listen to the advice of anyone who has not done what I'm doing and has no clue on how to do what I'm doing. Be selective of who & what you listen to. See the end results in mind!
2. Preparation & Planning, be creative & resourceful – be innovative, always think outside the box. Don't stop at the first bump in the road, spend time looking for ways to get around it.
3. Know your niche, your target market; who are you trying to attract? What problem will you be solving?
4. Continue to educate yourself on the different aspects that affect your area of business, the market you are in and the markets you plan to get into.
5. Don't ‘compete' and do what everyone else is doing, ‘create' & be different! Look for ways to add value to an ordinary business concept and turn that into something extraordinary.
6. You have to know your dreams & goals and believe in them; while it can be discouraging to hear the negative remarks from the naysayer's around you, you must remain focused, confident & extremely persistent and look for ways to make it work. Your dream is most and only important to YOU; you are the only one that can make the choice to give up, give in or to make it happen. What will your choice be?
7. Strategic Marketing and Branding - who are you, what do you stand for and how are you going to get your name to potential clients? This is the key in monetizing your business.
8. Enlist the services of a mentor, this person will assist you in getting clarity, provide you with guidance and hold you accountable in achieving your success. It has been proven that some of the most successful people to-date at some point in their journey worked with a coach/mentor.
9. There are numerous business strategies, find one or two that work for you, focus on those ones and become an expert at that; attempting every strategy from every handle will prove frustrating, confusing, time consuming and very costly.
10. Identify the reason(s) "why" you are doing this and see the end results in your mind every step of the way; each person's "why" will be different, however, if you know why you are working towards a specific goal, you can often use this as a motivator on those tough days.
11. Last, but most important take MASSIVE ACTION, educate yourself on the risks, however don't be paralyzed by them; create a plan and paddle through as if you have no other option. This works best for me, I never ‘try' something, I ‘do it' with the intent to succeed, and there is no alternative. You must begin somewhere, what do you have to lose?
If you take every business course, read all the books on the subject matter, go to all seminars and do nothing, the end result will be the same – you will not achieve anything!
The best way to learn it is by doing it. The greatest risk is not doing anything at all.
Go reinvent yourself & your business in 2011!!
Written by Shanna McFarlane
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