small business gurus - the blog of Cat & Keith Matson

by Cat Matson

I love January.  After the rush of lead-up to Christmas, January is a slower month ... with people excited about what the new year holds.

It is of course a time for ‘starting fresh’ ... which for me is like starting a new year at school – crisp, fresh books (with nothing in the them yet), a new classroom and teacher, new ideals about how I will be this year (compared to last).  Even now (far too many years after school), there’s still that sensation of a fresh start ... even though, the reality is, we pick up where we ‘left off’.

I’m not one for resolutions ... as they are too easily made in a rush of blood to the head and even more easily broken within the first days of the year.  However the ‘freshness’ of the new year gives space for more powerful planning and reflection on your business.

Start with what I call your ‘Life Sandbox’ – what is in the sandbox that is your life that is important to you ... and impacts or is impacted by your business.  Obviously there’s things like family commitments ... but what about your desire to have more frequent holidays or mini-breaks ... or doing something with your golf clubs other than cane-toad-putting practice.

Your business should fit ‘into’ your life ... not the other way around ... so if you clearly define your ‘life’ first, you have a better context from which to plan your business.  From this perspective, what business goals would you like to achieve ... and what strategies or projects do you need to work on to make those goals real?

The ‘reality routine’ will be back before you know it – now that school’s gone back all sense of ‘holiday’ is gone ... and that ‘new-year freshness’ will fade soon too.  So take some time to really plan your key outcomes for the year ...  and not only give yourself a fresh start to the year ... but a fresh way of doing your business.

Cat

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