The overall need to get more done in your business is critical. When running a business where you tend to be one of very few “employees”, it’s easy to get lost in the day to day and look at your goals in broad terms.
“My goal this month is to be successful in my business”, is not the way to think about success. Even “My goal this week is to get into more stores”, is still too vague. Instead, try thinking in smaller, measurable chunks that make it possible to be successful in some way, almost every single day.
When you start each work day, do you say to yourself what you want to do accomplish that day? Not your list of “to-dos” (that’s always there) but one single thing you can do that day to take a step closer to your success. If not, give it try.
- Decide on a day goal
- Make a quick list of the various steps you have to take to reach that specific goal
- Create a few quick backups if something doesn’t go your way
Example:
- Today I want to pitch 5 to 10 new stores today
- I will spend 2 hours researching stores that carry emerging designers (unless of course you’re a StartUp FASHION Community member, then you have a list of 500 stores at the ready) and make a list of 50
- I will then look at their websites to make sure that they fit my aesthetic, and ultimately have a list of no less than 5, not more than 10 to pitch
- Next I’ll write tailored pitches to each store
- Back up: If research is going no where, I’ll shift my focus to researching lists or directories that could help me find what I need. If I get stumped on crafting the pitch, I’ll shift my focus to finding advice or consultants who can help me.
Thinking about your goal in specific terms, rather than “I need to get into some stores this week”, you have a better chance of actually accomplishing what you need to each day. You tend to look at the steps as individual tasks and, once you’ve gone through them, you feel good about what you accomplished.
Then you can open up that to-do list that never seems to go away and chip away at it, knowing that you’ve already completed the one single thing you wanted to accomplish today.
I’m not saying you have to do this very single day if you don’t want to, but if you apply this to the major things you want to accomplish in your business, you’ll be amazed at how much you headway you actually make.
Image via pedrosimoes7