It’s not only a new year but a new decade. There’s a clean slate in front of you, now all you have to do is decide what to do with it. Seems pretty daunting if you ask us so we’re here to guide you through setting your intentions for 2020.
Know When To Pivot
Personally, we kicked off the new year by making a major brand shift for ourselves based on feedback we received from our listeners and by reevaluating where we were headed at the end of 2019 versus where we started over a year ago.
When we started off, we wanted to create content that would help our listeners build brands and give them insight to what it’s like to be an entrepreneur. We soon realized that our audience was more interested in more in-depth content on how to run businesses. In 2020 that’s what we’re here to give you.
So, what does that mean for you? Just like us, you might be at the point you need to pivot. One of the most important things, not just with your business but with any product, is realizing that you may have to make a pivotal change to your business model or product at some point based on the feedback or results that you’re getting.
Once you’ve defined what direction you’re headed it’s time to set your sites on the new year. In this blog post we discuss three steps you should take to set your intentions for your business and for yourself.
Step 1: Discover Your “Why”
Before you can start setting goals for the year, you need to rediscover what it is that makes you tick, what makes you excited to get out of bed every day, and what makes work enjoyable for you. The first thing you should do before setting your intentions for the new year is to stop and reflect. Why are you where you are, why have you chosen this path, and is this still what you want?
Questions to ask yourself might be:
- Why do I want to be an entrepreneur?
- Why do I want to be a business owner?
- Why do I want to do my own thing versus working a normal nine to five job?
- Am I trying to leave a job that doesn’t challenge me anymore?
- Am I trying to make more money?
- Am I trying to achieve a different type of lifestyle?
You should always come back to whatever your why is when setting goals. Being able to define what your motivation is to make the change from where you are now to where you want to be will help you lay out a clear plan for the future.
Part of goal setting for the year ahead and figuring out where you want to go next is figuring out if you’re happy where you’re at, why or why not, and how to move forward from there.
Step 2: Set Your Goals
After you’ve had time to reflect on your why and what your mission is moving forward, the next big thing is goal setting. Look back on the previous year’s goals and determine if they were realistic and if you met them or not. Use them as a benchmark to come up with a way to set attainable realistic goals for you personally and for your business. Listen to our latest podcast episode to hear about how Brody’s personal 2019 goal turned out!
Use the new year to restart and reset your goals for where you want to be this time next year. When it comes to setting goals it’s really important that each one has a clearly defined and measurable outcome. If it helps, think about your goal setting as building a project plan. Define what needs to get done (the main outcome of your goal) and then layout all of the steps and sub-steps it will take to get there.
If you want an example you should write one here cause the one in the podcast was hard to write out.
Step 3: Track Your Goals
No matter what your goals are, tracking them is just as important as setting them. There are million ways you can track your goals, more important than the method of tracking is actually doing it.
Brody uses the Kanban board system to track his progress on his goals. He gets three pieces of tape and sticks it up on the wall to create three columns: to do, in progress, and done.
To use this method, write each of your tasks on a post it notes and stick it in the to do list column. As you start working on things move the post it notes to in progress and when you complete things move them to the done column. This might not be the most visually appealing way to track your progress but having it up on the wall in front of you every day will help keep you focused on the things that matter most. Not interested in taking over an entire wall in your office? No worries, we created a digital goal tracking template you can download here!
It’s Go Time – Start 2020 Off The Right Way!
There is no time like the present to get going, start what you want to do, and make it happen! If you’re struggling to define your why, set your goals, or figure out a tracking system that works best for you we’re here to help! Reach out to us today to get started setting your intentions for 2020. And don’t forget to tune into the next episode of our podcast, It’s Go Time!