It’s the Autumn of Possibilities
It’s the Autumn of possibilities. As the summer weather ends, I tend to refocus on business and recommit to my goals. Exploring the possibilities is always exciting (and a little scary). How do you challenge yourself to move forward in your business? Everyone does it differently. It’s one of the great things about being a business owner – You do what you want. That’s also one of the more difficult things about being a business owner – Nobody is there to tell you what to do. So how do you create your own personal business goals?
Brainstorm the possibilities.
Open yourself up to different options; find new resources and tools that can help you on your way to success. Recently I started attending a meet-up in my area, for entrepreneurial women. It’s my little secret for the time being. Even though I have been in business for a while, I felt the need to get back to the basics. Learn from others and get support for how I want to grow. I learn so much from people who are pursuing completely different businesses than mine.
Commit to a goal.
Own it! Let other people know what it is. Write it down. Whatever you have to do to keep yourself moving towards the goal. I have a small reminder (made with my handy-dandy label maker) on my computer monitor. It is a quote from Zig Ziglar. I look at it every day. It says “The one action I need to take today in order to move closer to my goals is…” If you ask yourself this every morning and start the day with that mindset, you can’t lose.
How do you challenge yourself to move forward in your business? Click To Tweet
Have a realistic time frame.
Finding the time could be the hardest part of achieving your goals. If it’s important enough, you’ll schedule bits of time to progress. Marking my calendar for reasonable amounts of time to work on a project works for me. It commits me to spend the time. Even if it’s a half-hour, I am that much closer to the finish line.
Break it down into mini-goals.
The same skills you use with your clients can be applied to your business. Better yet, if your goals are broken down into small tasks you can celebrate the completion of each task and not have to wait until the entire project is finished.
How do you challenge yourself to move forward in your business? It’s one of the great things about being a business owner and also one of the more difficult things about being a business owner. Click To TweetGet support.
At times “it takes a village”. Find people who will cheer you on and keep you accountable. Several years ago I joined a small accountability group. I meet over the Internet with Julie Gray of Profound Impact and Nealey Stapleton of The Organizing Boutique about every 6 weeks. We ask each other questions, set goals for ourselves, and keep each other accountable. Sometimes those conversations are hard, but in the end, they are what get me outside my box and moving forward. It is so awesome that we have nicknamed ourselves “the Rockstars”.
Get ready for setbacks.
Progress never travels in a straight line. Riding the roller coaster can be scary and fun. It’s all in how you look at it. I have learned that setbacks define my business. Coming back from a setback only makes you stronger, so go for it. Don’t let it stop you.
Believe you can do it.
The confidence that “you can” is essential. If someone created a confidence pill they are a gazillionaire, but it’s not that easy. Just now and be confident that you are an expert in what you do and do it to the best of your ability.
As your world reconvenes after summer, this is a great time to try something new. Resolve to connect with someone new. Find a more established colleague who you can learn from, or meet someone new who you can mentor. Commit to broadening your education. There are so many opportunities to spark your thinking. How will you recommit to your business goals in this autumn of possibilities?
Subscribe by email
Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
Janet Schiesl
Janet has been organizing since 2005. She is a Certified Professional Organizer and the owner of Basic Organization.
She loves using her background as a space planner to challenge her clients to look at their space differently. She leads the team in large projects and works one-on-one with clients to help the process move quickly and comfortably. Call her crazy, but she loves to work with paper, to purge what is not needed and to create filing systems that work for each individual client.
Janet is a Past Board Member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals and a Past President of the Washington DC Chapter of NAPO were she has been named Organizer of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.
Janet Schiesl
Janet has been organizing since 2005. She is a Certified Professional Organizer and the owner of Basic Organization.
She loves using her background as a space planner to challenge her clients to look at their space differently. She leads the team in large projects and works one-on-one with clients to help the process move quickly and comfortably. Call her crazy, but she loves to work with paper, to purge what is not needed and to create filing systems that work for each individual client.
Janet is a Past Board Member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals and a Past President of the Washington DC Chapter of NAPO were she has been named Organizer of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.
I love that Zig Ziglar quote! It’s one of my favorites. I love the idea of a group that helps you feel more accountable for your actions. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this topic.
Yes, a group can help in so many ways. Thanks for reading.
I’ve just been attending a conference and I would say that believing you can do it definitely matters. Sometimes we kill the dream in our minds before we even begin. There is no doubt that this stuff can be discouraging, but we need to keep going. Good things happen when you just won’t give up!
Exactly. We have to be on our own side and believe we can do it.
Such a timely post. I love how the change of seasons helps me to gear up for the coming months. And this fall, I set a goal to do something I’ve never done before. I’m hosting my own online workshop. While I’ve given many workshops and presentations, I’ve never hosted my own. There was a learning curve for the tech part and marketing aspects. But once I got the support I needed and selected a date (October 20th,) all the pieces started falling into place. What I realized is how essential the support is- be it actual help in implementing or encouragement from those that see it before you do.
Love the Zig Ziglar quote you keep front and center. Those small actions we take each day bring us closer to our bigger goal. I remember feeling overwhelmed at first with the list of to-dos for the workshop. But once I prioritized and focused on the daily effort, I felt and saw the progress. Very exciting!
Congratulations on the workshop, what a great adventure. Great way to celebrate the changing of the seasons.
I hadn’t heard that quote from Zig Ziglar before – it’s such a good one! I set a weekly goal for myself. One or two big things that I want to do to move myself toward my overarching goal. It’s tough and I love that you have people you meet with regularly to share wins with.
That’s a great way to move forward, by taking one or two steps at a time. That’s what it takes!
I think you and I were on the same blogging wavelength this week. We both focused on fresh starts, but you’ve turned the attention toward actionable steps with a “reality check” mindset all along the way..
Yes. I agree. I always feel like September is a good time to “reset”.
Wonderful Blog Janet and reminder to move forward. I always say “Do one thing a day to move your business forward” whether it’s an email, a phone call, or setting a goal, usually the act of that one item helps me roll into doing other things as well. .
That’s a great way to start. Sometimes just doing the one thing is all it takes to make you realize you can do so much more.