As you put away the confetti, bubbly and black-eyed peas, it’s time to start making all of your resolutions and goals for the new year a reality.
It can be easy to envision a new, clean slate where all of your dreams are possible, but unless you change along with the year, things will remain the same. Don’t expect a new calendar to fix that for you.
Here are four ways to make sure you achieve your goals this year.
1. Work toward it every day. It takes 14 days to change your habits, so start adjusting now. That might mean filing invoices right away — instead of waiting until they stack up on your desk — or gradually growing your client base each month.
2. Have a plan. You can say you want to grow your business, but if you don’t know how to do that, you’re just wasting your time. Instead of saying you want to expand, talk with a landscaper who has actually done that and learn from him. You can join associations to surround yourself with successful landscapers or find someone in another part of the country to talk with (so you don’t have to worry about them being a competitor).
3. Don’t give up. Change isn’t easy, so if things aren’t going as planned, don’t just throw in the towel. Instead, figure out what you might be doing wrong or what you could do better. Are you trying to grow your Facebook presence but aren’t gaining “likes”? Maybe you aren’t posting enough or the information you’re sharing isn’t interesting to potential clients. Keep testing out different types of posts — like photos, discounts or fun landscape facts — to see which type works best.
4. Remember why you’re doing it. A goal or resolution shouldn’t just be list of Dos and Don’ts. You need to remember why you made those plans to begin with. If you can keep that at the forefront, that can serve as motivation when times get tough.
We’re already two days into 2014, so don’t waste another second. Get started now!
