The Winter Blues

Today here in Minneapolis it's 20 below zero and I had the opportunity to drive across Iowa and Nebraska the other day and observed the bleak winter landscape.  Winter is a little like what is going on in our economy in that at times it can get a little depressing.  As I looked across Iowa and Nebraska I imagined what the farmers were doing this time of year when the ground is white and frozen and likened it a little to what many businesses are facing right now.  The farmer in the upper Midwest right now is preparing for Spring, even though as he looks outside there is no hint of it he knows that in a matter of a couple of months Spring will be here and he will be back outside planting crops. But this time of year is just as important for him, as he is planning his crops, determining when and where he will buy seed and fertilizer, working on his equipment to make sure it is in the best operating condition before he needs it in the Spring.  

In today's economic environment it can seem like the bleak days of winter and yet every business must realize that there will be Spring and when that time comes it is essential that the business is in  a position to jump when things start moving again. In the event that your business is slow right now what are doing to make sure that when the business environment improves you are ready to capitalize on it. You should be making sure your business plan is set and have your business funnel ready to go and that all your tools such as marketing and sales are operating a peak efficiency so that your business can grow quickly when the environment improves. And have faith, it will improve, history has taught us that valuable lesson.  Stay Warm!

It's a New Year, Again!

Once again we start a new year and if you're like me you're thinking about all the things you want to accomplish in this new year.  Of course this year is a little different because we all probably have some trepidation about what's going on with the economy and how it will impact our business in the coming year.  As we look at what we want to do in the coming year we typically start setting some goals and then maybe write down some things that we will do to achieve those goals but in most cases that is the extent of our planning for the new year. 

I would encourage you to try a different approach this year!  Rather than focusing on what you want to accomplish this year, try developing an action plan of the things you need to do each and every day in order to achieve those goals you set.  Create a plan that measures those actions, for instance if you need to ramp up your marketing to achieve those goals then determine exactly what you need to do from a marketing perspective; do you need to do more advertising, or more direct marketing or more online marketing and whatever it is measure the specific things you are going to do in order to do that.  In my book "Ultimate Breakthrough Planning" I have a whole section that talks about measuring key milestones and how if you measure and hit your key milestones you will inevitably hit your goals. As I work with my clients I constantly remind them that if you measure your actions and execution of your plan your goals will take care of themselves.  

Obviously we have a challenging environment this year however with challenges come opportunities and in order to capitalize on those opportunities and grow your business in difficult times you must have a laser focused approach to what you are going to do.