It’s been a tough year. Scratch that. It’s been a tough two years!
Quarantines. Incessant lockdowns. Labour shortages. Supply chain disruptions — many pandemic-related challenges have taken a toll on lives and livelihoods.
Yet for businesspeople who’ve made it through the trying times, especially those of us in direct selling, the new year presents an opportunity to reflect, recharge and consider the best ways to forge on.
Is your goal to make 2022 a year of big financial gains? Do you want to chart richer personal and professional growth? Are you determined to stop and smell the roses more, given all that we’ve been through?
Here are five resolutions that can help you on your journey to a more prosperous and profitable new year:
Learning to move on
Building a business requires dedication and diligence. Yet what can be just as important is learning how and when to let go.
Not every person you meet is going to turn into a downline, neither are all your sales efforts going to hit the mark. And the quicker direct sellers and business owners realise this and channel their resources into efforts that actually yield returns, the better.
So this year, be tougher and more discerning of your time and resolve to move on when it’s clear that you’re heading down roads with few or no rewards.
That’s, after all, what the best business leaders do.
Recalibrating marketing plans and business goals
A new year is also an excellent time to reevaluate business processes and overall goals.
The pandemic has taught us that the best companies are those that can adapt and improve. So take this opportunity to consider previous approaches as well as the current business landscape and future trends.
Are you going to invest more in digital tools? Will these help your business hit the projected financial marks? Should you change how you engage with clients and prospects or double the effort?
Evaluate all the info and update your marketing strategy and business plans accordingly.
A year to grow
Continuous learning should be part and parcel of a business owner’s daily life.
Unfortunately, day-to-day concerns often succeed in relegating this important aspect of entrepreneurial life to the bottom of our priority lists.
With that in mind, look to adopt a “growth mindset” in the new year and acquire new knowledge.
There are several ways you could do this, of course, and it’s worth mentioning that learning something new, regardless of the subject, is never a waste.
But while a dance class may help keep you physically (and mentally) sharp, what might pay more significant dividends is to concentrate on getting better at presentations, leadership and other skills that directly impact your business.
Paying it forward
No entrepreneur achieves success purely on their own. This is especially true for direct selling, in which community and mentorship play vital roles.
Think back to your earliest days in this business and the challenges you’ve faced. Were there people who shared their wisdom, offered input and helped you overcome challenges?
The new year might be the right time for you to pay it forward and resolve to support your peers and downlines on their own individual journeys.
Incidentally, giving back could have an incidental positive impact on your business’s bottom line for the simple fact that people want to work for and with those who prioritise generosity.
Striking a balance
Finances aside, the pandemic has been especially hard on many business owners’ mental health.
So now that some normalcy has returned, it’s time to strike a balance between career and personal health and remember that you are the most important cog in your business.
Sure, taking physical vacations may not always be doable, especially if you’re an entrepreneur who’s in the early stages of building your business. But that doesn’t mean you can’t take little mental health breaks.
Try making simple changes like turning off notifications on your phone and resolving to only deal with emails at set times in the day.
Setting aside some personal time for you and your non-work space will only guarantee you return to the grind refreshed, more positive and more productive!
