Where Do You Want To Be?

2013 is coming to a close and the New Year is upon us. For many, that means New Year resolutions in both personal life and business life. Unfortunately, many of these goals go unrealized because the job seems too overwhelming and fear sets in. So, how do you overcome this and take the first step?

Think Big!If you do not know where you are going you will never get there.  You need to have a very clear vision of what your business is going to eventually look like.  Do you want to work with your art full time?  Are you planning on owning a brick and mortar shop or working art shows or keeping your work exclusively online?  Don’t hold back and dream big.  Write down your dream with the understanding that this is a target that may come to be or may change as your business grows.

Set Goals!  Everyone says to set goals….great advice but how do you do this?  Have a clear vision and set goals that are both long term and short term, both large and small.  Make sure that they follow the SMART plan-Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time bound.

Specific.  Don’t say I want to be able to live off my art-set a specific number that you would need to make in order to be self-supporting  and write them down.  Having a specific plan in front of you will help you keep your eyes on the prize.

Measurable.  How are you going to know when you’ve achieved your goal if you can’t tell when you’ve arrived?  Instead of saying you want to add new products to your line, say you want to launch one new product per quarter.  Instead of saying you want to have a website, set a date by which that site will be live.

Attainable.  Your goal should not be so easy that it doesn’t have any challenge but also should not be so difficult that you are just setting yourself up to fail.

Realistic.  Do you have the time, resources and skills to make your goal a reality?  If your plans are not realistic you are setting yourself up for failure.

Time Bound.  If you have a specific date that a project must be done it will help eliminate the procrastination problem.  Make the date’s realistic based on your life as it stands now.  They can always be adjusted as you go along but at least you will have a plan.

Break it down.  Some of our more lofty goals may look far too large to ever manage.  Break these big plans into smaller pieces that are doable.  Again, write these down!

Start today!  Our minds want a starting point; often that is the New Year or Monday…but the reality is that there is no better day to start than today.  After that, make sure that you do something, even a little something, to move you closer to your goals.

Tell someone!  Grab a friend and tell them what you are doing then give them permission to hold you accountable and do the same for them.  When you know that someone is watching you, it is much harder to find excuses to not work.  By motivating, checking in on, and supporting one another, you stand a much better chance of succeeding.

 

Tags: business, goal, grow, Handmade, New Year, plan

Posted in Handmade, Handmade Mode, Information, Selling Tips