Refresh, Refuel and Reset Your Goals

Now that the kids are headed back  to school, why not use this fall as a fresh start for your small business? Sometimes we just need to refresh, refuel, and reset ourselves to get a new perspective on things.

Refresh

If you didn’t take a vacation this summer, you still need to step away from your business in order to refresh your attitude and let in new ideas. Take off early Friday afternoon. Go for a walk in the middle of the day. Take a long weekend and go to the beach. It doesn’t matter what you do, but make sure to disconnect from your business completely, even if it’s just for 10 minutes. Doing so can make room for new inspiration, and can help you see clearly the things you need to work on in your business right now.

 Refuel

If you’ve been dragging along in your business lately, you need to remind yourself why you started your business in the first place. Write it out, if necessary, and post it on your wall, so that when times get tough, you have a constant reminder of what you’re striving for in your business.

Attend local networking events. Nothing will refuel your passion more than interacting with other entrepreneurs who are excited about what they do. And when I need a little inspiration, I also read business magazines and books and come away stimulated.

Reset

If you made New Year’s resolutions for your business at the start of the year or any other business goals, you may not have actually checked up on them in a while, let alone actually achieved them. Dust them off and take a look. Are these still the goals you need to have for your company, or have they changed slightly? Don’t be afraid to modify them if necessary. A goal is only as good as it is realistic, so don’t expect them to be static.

If they still are goals you want to work for, attack them with renewed zest this fall. Come up with action items, assigning each task to a staff member, to help you reach your goals. For example:

We want to increase sales by 30% by year end.

• Assess current sales levels
• Increase promotion of our most popular products
• Create incentive plan for our sales team to sell more