Stay on Track in the New Year
Make REAL progress in your cake, food business this year!
Whether it’s “new year, new you” or “new year, same you,” most of us can use a bit of help staying on track going into this new year. That’s why in this article you’ll find tips that are designed to help you stay productive and your business moving forward into this year ahead of us.
Usually what happens when you start anything new, you get excited and feel motivated to make some real progress. Then, after a few weeks pass we typically find ourselves slowly slipping back into old habits. In fact, according to studies, “of the 41% of Americans who make New Year's resolutions, only 9% were successful in keeping them.” My genuine hope is that this will be the last year that you say “I’m going to ______” because you actually achieved that goal. That’s why in this article I’m sharing the tips that I believe will help you stay on track this year.
4 Tips to Help You Stick to Your Goals
Get an accountability partner
Make a plan with actionable steps (and set deadlines)
Do one thing in your business everyday, at least
Do what you don’t want to do first
#1 Get an accountability partner
If you want to stay on track, make sure to find somebody who's going to hold you accountable. This can be one person or a group of folks but they need to be folks who (1) know you well enough to know your habits and triggers, (2) can call you out when you’re not doing what you said you would do, and (3) can help motivate you when you need that extra boost.
If you don’t have any friends like that, you can always work with a coach or counselor to help you along the way. In the same way that you would hire a dietician or a personal trainer, connect with a professional or mentor that will help you stay on track in business. You can also use a support system like what we have in the Sugar Coin Academy’s private membership.
#2 Make a plan with actionable steps (and deadlines)
At the beginning of each month or quarter, you may have a list of tasks that you want to accomplish. However, you should not only list out things you want to accomplish, but you should also think through the steps you might need to take to make those things happen. For example, if you want to “organize your finances,” you need to define what that means and create a plan to make that happen. This could mean setting up a new, business only bank account or opening a business credit card. This could mean setting up and using an accounting software like Quickbooks.
Creating an actionable plan to achieve your goals is one of the most important (yet) easily overlooked parts of transitioning a goal into reality. In addition to that, make sure to set deadlines to hold yourself accountable. Your accountability partner is not 100% responsible for keeping you on track. You have to take ownership as well. Setting calendar reminders and setting deadlines will help you continue to make progress and hit important milestones.
#3 Do one thing in your business everyday, at least
Whether you work full-time or part-time in your business, make it a point to do something that will move the needle in your business each day. This could be answering comments on social media, creating an email blast, doing administrative tasks, sending out invoices or creating order forms. This could also be checking in with staff to whom you’ve delegated tasks. Yeah, you don’t have to do every single thing in your business. However, it is your responsibility to make sure that things get done and you meet your business goals. So make sure to do something in your business each day. Well…unless you’re on vacation.
Keep in mind that doing things in advance and setting yourself up for success is also moving the business forward. Regardless of whether people see it now or later, my point is that you plan those seeds to set yourself up for success in the long run. In this case, that could be taking a class or earning a degree/certification. This will all have an impact on your business in the future.
“Overnight successes are made behind the scenes.” There will be things that you’ll need to do in business that most people will never see. Those will likely be the things that set you apart!
#4 Do what you don’t want to do first
Over the years, I’ve found that doing the “not so fun” things first helps me get more things done. In fact, this has been my strategy since grade school. Eat your veggies so you can enjoy dessert, right? It’s easy to procrastinate from doing the things on your to-do list by overspending time on tasks that you want to do. That’s where “procrasti-baking” comes from. So, do yourself a favor, do the admin work, send the invoices and do the bookkeeping before you make your way into the kitchen. That way you will be able to have fun doing the things that you love instead of stressing over that mountain of admin work on your desk.
With all of that said, Happy New Year sweet friend! I hope this year brings you nothing but success and joy! 🤩 If you found this article helpful, make sure to connect with me via email using the form below. I want to make sure that I can be there to support you every step of the way this year, and by joining my email list I can let you know when new articles or FREE trainings are available.
