It’s been an incredible start to 2018, January is always an exciting time in our city of Melbourne with the energy of the Australian Open.  What a sensational finale to the season, Roger Federer certainly didn’t disappoint, it was fabulous to see him claim his 20th grand slam title! 

In his own words reflecting on the match outcome ‘all happened because of hard work, dedication and passion’.  Sound familiar?

Starting the New Year right is critical for every entrepreneur...

From experience, I know that if you get this wrong, you'll feel direction-less, overwhelmed and on the back foot for months.

Start the New Year right, and you'll set yourself up for your BEST year yet! 

I think of January as ‘foundations’ month, setting up the building blocks and corner stones of your business, freeing you up to focus on building a sustainable and successful biz.

Last week I shared the process I follow to set short, mid-term and long-term goals for the year ahead.   If you are still unclear on what activities to focus on in 2018, start by reviewing 2017 results against projections.  What has given the best ROI on your investment, what new projects will you take on or indeed shelve?

Tip:  I am a highly visual soul, I use A3 post it notes as a planning aid and stick them to the walls along the hallway, drawing a roadmap of my business plan and marketing activities. Anyone else do this?

I leave the sticky notes up for a few weeks as a reference, fine-tuning and making sure I have covered all bases with marketing, communication and financial planning documentation.  (Image below are the past few years I kept as a tool to track progress and direction in my biz.  Great to reflect back on!)

Also, update your Business Plan on an annual basis in line with current trends and changes to your business structure and activities. Are your goals SMART – specific, measureable, attainable, realistic and time-bound?

HERE is a One Page Business Plan to get you started.  

I can’t believe January is nearly done and dusted!  Next week I will share some of the biggest roadblocks that hold most entrepreneurs back and what you can do to get you moving forward.

To your success…