by Azam Corry
I'm sure you must have made some new year resolutions, plans or goals for your business. As we move into the last quarter of the year, now is a good time to reflect on them and the progress you've made so far.
If things are going well ... great! Pat yourself on the back and work on the steps you need to take for further success. Don't dilute your energies by trying too many new ideas at once. Keep your focus and concentrate on strategies that have already worked well for you. Look at how they might be improved, or adapted and applied in new areas. Set yourself a new goal or target to reach by year-end.
If things aren't going so well, it might be a sign that you need to reassess your situation and make some adjustments. A change of direction may be in order. Take some time off: you'll get a clearer perspective on your problems when you're not buried amongst them. Looking from the outside will help you better understand what is really happening.
Try to identify all the areas in which you have seen some positive results. Think about how you might expand on these, and make them more central to your business. Note aspects that obviously aren't working - be honest with yourself here. Make a commitment not to devote any more resources to them, even if you personally think they're great ideas. Perhaps you can investigate them again at a later date, when business is healthier.
If your current activities aren't achieving anything like the results you envisioned, perhaps it's time to consider ceasing them altogether, and investigating alternative avenues.
Don't become so attached to your business that you can't bear to turn your back on it (or at least let it idle while you build something else), when you know it's simply not working out. It can be hard, I know. But the truth is, many - if not most - successful businesses, are built on the backs of one or two previous failures.
The time you've already put in, six months - a year even - is not wasted. It's never wasted. It's all valuable experience. Experience you can't buy. Experience that will make success in your next venture all the more certain.
© 1999-2000 Azam Corry "Do it Better. Do it Faster. Do it Right!"
Azam Corry owns Now Sell! Bursting with inside information, tools
and resources to help you profit online. Top Rated by Go.com and
Recommended by About.com. Visit: http://www.NowSell.com/?BShape
==> Get Azam's Biz Bits, viewed a "must read" ezine by thousands
of online business owners: mailto:BizBits-subscribe@topica.com
<< Back to Articles Index
