Happy New Year! The Growth Coach organization and this business coach in particular wishes you much health, happiness, prosperity, and fulfillment in 2009. Doesn't that sound good? Sure it does. However, let's be honest, all my wishing doesn't mean squat if you don't think differently and act differently in 2009. As a business owner, your success and happiness are 100% up to you, nobody else. As a business coach for nearly 20 years, I can promise you this... if you think the same ways and do the same things you did in 2008, you will get the same results in 2009, plus or minus 10%, IF you're lucky. Is that what you really want?
If you want your 2009 to be much bigger, brighter, better, and different than 2008, then you must make some changes. For your business and life to change for the better, YOU must change...otherwise, nothing will change. If you aren't careful, you will get the same old same old results in 2009 as you did last year. You must be willing to look to the past for lessons and in the mirror for a reality check. Time to look back in order to move forward intelligently.
For a better 2009, you need to sit down, reflect, face reality, assess, and do some planning. In short, you need to take time and do some real thinking. What was good, bad and ugly about 2008? Quiet and uninterrupted thinking is the best gift you can give yourself and your business heading into 2009. What were the valuable lessons and new ideas and strategies you should have learned from 2008?
To help you, let me ask you a few business coaching questions. What didn't work in your business in 2008? What facets of your business were broken or performing poorly? If someone were to think about buying your business today, what issues or conditions might worry them? What problems did you fail to confront head on? What tough decisions did you put off at a cost to your company? What worked great in 2008 that you need to leverage and duplicate in 2009? What is broken in your personal life that needs addressing? If you could change one thing in your business and one thing in your personal life, what would they be?
As former great UCLA basketball coach John Wooden says, "It's what you learn after you know it all that really counts!" Are you open to learning more and even unlearning some things in 2009? Are you finally willing to invest in your growth and development as a business owner? For your business to grow, YOU must grow! Are you prepared to improve your knowledge, mindset, skills and habits? Ready to benefit from some business coaching? Some peer-to-peer collaboration? Are you prepared to read more and listen more to educational CDs? In 2009, please commit to keep on learning and growing...your revenues, employees, and customers will thank you.
As your virtual business coach, please do me a favor. Do NOT make any New Year's Resolutions? Why? They are a waste of time. Again, they are similar to making wishes...all fluff and no substance. They simply don't work. Without specific goals, action plans and most importantly, on-going accountability, not much in business and life (dreams, wishes, desires, and wants) ever gets accomplished.
If you really want to escape the trial-and-error approach to running your business, make huge improvements in your performance, and put some enjoyment back into being an owner, do yourself a favor and get some business coaching and accountability help. Only through on-going accountability will you achieve lasting changes in your mindsets, behavior, habits and results. Take the first step and click here to take our 5-minute, confidential, business coaching assessment quiz. I promise you it will be highly valuable and revealing.
Again, best wishes for 2009...now go make the changes necessary to have a great year!
Daniel M. Murphy
President, Founder & Business Coach
The Growth Coach
Business Coaching Franchise System