From the President

Great Expectations for 2019

Begin the New Year with hope for your future and the future of your business.

What have you done today to make your business better for tomorrow? Your business need not be defined by what you did yesterday. Don’t let past mistakes define your future. Learn from, then let go of the past. It really should be defined by what you do today and then strive to repeat those successes going forward. It may be hard to make such bold statements when you remember your past failures. Learning from your own past takes reflection and will serve to produce wisdom that only comes when you have truly experienced failure.

Analyzing Your Past

Take a hard look at your business and yourself. Define a period for review. As we are already in the New Year, your review period should be 2018. Start by making a list of all the things that went wrong. Your list should include specific goals that were not achieved. Add any significant failure(s) and then call out what you think was the main reason for failing to achieve your goal(s). Don’t wallow in this, but take time to properly reflect so you can understand what went wrong.

Review each failure. Think about what could have been done to avoid them, then document this information as if your revelation post-letdown was a success based on what you have learned. If you’re having trouble coming up with a solution, make a note of it. Don’t be afraid to phone a friend for advice. Once you have your list complete, organize it and rank them by what it may have cost your business. This ranking should take more into account than just the hard cost. For example, if one of your goals was to be successful with social media marketing and you didn’t properly execute on this strategy, then you rank it based on what you didn’t achieve in business growth. Next, it’s time to create a plan.

A Plan to Succeed

After proper reflection, your next step it to formulate a plan to succeed. This plan differs from your overall business plan as it focuses on areas you have identified for improvement. Take the list you created that outlines your failures. Focus on what you could have done better to achieve what you desired for your business. Remove anything you no longer want to achieve or have decided may not work. Each goal should be measurable. This will ensure you set your business up for success. Choose a review date and then write it all down.

Put Your Plan to Paper

Writing seems like a lost art these days, but there is something great about putting your plan to paper. A written plan is something that can be posted in an area that allows you and your team to remember and review every time you glance at it. It keeps it top of mind. If you are going to achieve anything great, a plan to get there and markers along the way will provide a constant reminder of a plan that was created with reflection and careful thought. To finish, write out what success looks like when you achieve your goal. It is important to know when you meet or exceed the challenge. When you do, make sure you share it!

Share Your Experience

Sharing with your team and others in your circle is key to growth both personally and professionally. Make it a point to meet with your entire team and share both failure and success. Take this time to review where you fell short of goals. Listen to teammates as they can provide valuable feedback. Each of you can share what you will do together to make this year more fruitful. During this meeting, take some time to highlight both individual and team accomplishments.

Put a date on the calendar for your next review. Don’t let another year pass without reviewing how your business is measuring up against your new goals.

Don’t Give Up Regardless of your circumstances, don’t give up! If you discover that you and your team are lacking in one area or another, maybe it’s time to learn from others. A trip to a KnowledgeFest event comes to mind (shameless plug intended). We have heard from many retailers that were on the brink of collapse. As a last resort, and many times on the advice of a friend, they attended a KnowledgeFest event and received the much-needed information to restore their business.

Happy New Year!

That’s right. I said it. Happy New Year. And it will be, if you take the time to invest in your team, your business and yourself. Not sure if you are looking forward to 2019, but I can tell you that I am looking forward to it with great expectation and a highly successful year for our industry.