Can you believe it is going to be 2011 in a few days? Seems like only yesterday everyone thought the world would end because of Y2K. Computers were going to shut down, planes were going to fall from the sky, clocks would stop and on and on and on. Well as we all know none of that happened, and now we are getting ready to begin the second decade in the 2000's.
So what is on the horizon for the new year? Well let's all hope the market will get back into gear and we will all have a much more profitable year. Even if the market lags on, with hard work and determination it will be ok. We all hope the new year brings peace and health to everyone but since in my opinion "Hope" is not a strategy, we really need to prepare for the things we know and the things we have control over. While getting our businesses ready to go into 2011 the first thing we know is that a whole bunch of our paper work is going to change.
I think these changes are all for the best, and I know I understand the new documents as well as possible having never used them in practical application. It would be a wise decision to understand the new contracts and addenda prior to Jan 1. This could be the best decision you make in kicking off the new year.
I have read all the new paper work. I have studied it and taken any and all the courses I could find about it. The mandatory update is completely about the new contract. Today I am going to take my elective which is about all the other new docs we will be using. You can not be OVER educated. I plan on being as well prepared as possible. Take note I didn't say "I hope to be", I have made it part of my PLAN.
Now is the time to plan your attack for the new year. You need to have good ideas and indeed you need to hope for some things at first. Once you have the hopes and ideas and dreams in your head it is time to turn them into a PLAN. Put a pen to paper and write it all down, then weed through all the ideas and hopes and dreams and choose the ones which can be acted upon, the ones you have control over. Turn them into your goals for the new year. Then to achieve each goal you should have specific tasks to support your effort to reach the goal. Once you have the goal and the specific tasks then you have a plan which you can act upon. You have a document that you can refer to in order to check your progress. You have a living breathing document that is piratical and is a road map to your success. You can refer to it, adjust it, edit it and focus it to keep you on course.
If you go to a bank and ask to borrow money for your business and you tell them about your ideas and dreams and hopes they are going to say "those are good ideas", now go home and write it down and come back with a business plan. If they then like what they see they may lend you some money. So running your own business should be no different.
For scuba diver there is a saying which is meant to keep you alive. You should always "plan your dive, and dive your plan". Why not run your business as if your life depended on it? Plan for your success and succeed with your plan.
