Small business success presents many challenges before it is attained. And moving through the Holidays is one of them.
When you are doing success planning in your small business what do you do? You ask yourself questions. One of the keys to success is to ask questions. You come up with answers and you devise a plan. Small business success or most other success, for that matter, depends on good planning.
Small Business Success And The Holidays
This year do the same thing for the Holidays. Hey, the routine and the atmosphere are going to change. You know it. And, you have a choice. You can fight it, be miserable and spread your misery to others. Or, you can embrace the challenge and make it work for you.
Invariably, small business success is tied to personal success of the business owner. Whether you are an entrepreneur, solo professional or a self-employed business owner how you handle the Holidays can have a big influence on how you start January.
There is nothing worse than coming out of the Holidays with a hangover. A hangover in terms of bad memories, stressful relationships and a feeling of lost momentum as you head into the New Year. If you want to put yourself in a position for small business growth in the New Year then know how to best handle the Holidays.
Small Business Success Tips For The Holidays
When January arrives you want to be ready to go. Here is a continuation of some success planning tips you can look at to move you through the Holidays and to increase your odds for small business success in January and beyond.
- What do you do when you are asked, “How’s your business doing?” Or, “How’s life treating you?” This is a tough question because it puts you in the past and depending on how you talk about it, you may end up having to defend yourself. Defending yourself is not a good place to be. Part of success planning is to know how to answer or parry certain questions.
If your business is doing great then go ahead and talk about it. If it isn’t don’t dwell on it. I may tell people that it has been a challenging but rewarding year and I am looking forward to next year.
Immediately after I do that I ask them how their business is doing. Remember, when you don’t want to talk about something you can, more often than not, take control of the conversation by asking more questions of your questioner.
Small Business Success: Life Is A Do It To Yourself Proposition
- How’s life treating you? This is a question that just invites you diving into a swamp. It is probably the deadliest question of the Holidays. It’s gut check time because your answer will reflect your attitude about your self, your life and your business.
A big part of success planning is your attitude about yourself, others and your business. When you have a good attitude about yourself it radiates like a warm glow on others. Make sure you have a mental list of good things that have happened during the year.
Also, be grateful in your speech for what you have. If things are challenging, acknowledge it but don’t dwell on it. Challenges are a normal part of life. What most people are interested in is not the challenge as much as how you are overcoming the challenge. If you have a challenge or challenges focus on how you are overcoming them.
- Be firm and assertive. There is tremendous power in a made up mind. Have you ever noticed when someone talks in an uncertain or less than confident manner that the advice sharks start circling around them. Talking in an uncertain tone or manner about your business and your life only invites others to offer unsolicited advice and criticism. Know where you are going. If you don’t others with good intentions will try to meddle and give you direction.
Keep the above in mind as you go through the Holiday season. Success planning is not just for your business but for your life. After all if you didn’t have a life, you wouldn’t have a business.
Here are a couple of observations as a personal business coach in coaching success. Success planning understands that in taking care of your life you will put the probabilities in your favor of having small business success.
Use the Holidays as a time to sharpen your focus on who you are and where you are going. Ask questions. Treat those difficult relationships as you would a customer or client.
The overall goal is to have your energy in a good place as you enter January. One of the challenges we have is time management. And, if your energy is in a good place you will manage your time better and be more productive.
This Holiday season go out and find the good in others. Be a good finder. When you are a good finder others are more likely to find the good in you. This can make for better relationships.
A large part of success and happiness in life comes from finding the good in others and in the challenges you encounter. When you do find the good in others they are more likely to find the good in you and give your success planning more energy and focus in January and beyond.
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