Most of you have probably made New Year’s resolutions aimed at improving yourselves. But what about your businesses?
You haven’t made any?
No problem. This article on Inc. offers some great suggestions that could help any entrepreneur, including:
Improve Your SEO
Some of your best potential customers may never find you if you don’t come up in their web searches. Search engine optimization needs constant attention, whether you’re a startup or one of the biggest retailers in the country. Because Google is constantly making updates to its algorithm, you’re never “done” with SEO, according to Inc. It’s a good idea to read SEO blogs regularly to make sure you’re aware of the latest trends.
Get Mobile Ready
Take a look at your website from your phone. How does it look? Chances are, most entrepreneurs can look at ways to build a more thorough mobile strategy this year, complete with creating a more responsive design for your site.
Aim for Work/Life Balance
If you felt over-worked in 2014, commit yourself to carving out at least one day per week that’s work-free. You’ll also want to schedule a certain number of hours per day for sleep (it’s crucial!) and no-work, friends/family/hobby time. After all, what’s the point in working for yourself if you can’t enjoy the life you’ve built?
And here are a few from this article in Entrepreneur:
Stop listening to your haters
In our lives, there are individuals who hold us back and who do not have our best interests at heart. Unfortunately, sometimes these individuals are our oldest friends or even our family members. It’s important to recognize when we just need to tune someone out. Make an effort not to engage. Break old patterns. Don’t confide in anyone who isn’t on your team.
Keep up with the news
You need to know what’s going on in the world to make smart, forward-thinking decisions for your business as well as grow your social network. Keeping up with current events will also help you identify future trends or predictions for your industry. As with your work/life balance goal, reserve a bit of time each day to browse a few news websites.
Have empathy for others.
How much better would the world be if people had more empathy? This is especially true of entrepreneurs who are often tasked with being the CEO, HR department and customer service. If you feel yourself getting frustrated with an employee or a customer, step away for a few minutes. Remind yourself how you would feel in their position, and then come up with a situation that works for both of you.
Making Sure Your Resolutions Stick
Now, making resolutions is one thing. Keeping them, well, that’s another.
This article in Time has some key advice for making resolutions stick, including giving them a different name. Call them goals, the article suggests. And avoid anything that’s vague or overly strict. Remember, slow and steady wins the race.
Motivation research tells us that three things need to be present to sustain your fire over time:
- Autonomy (you control what you do, rather than letting others dictate it)
- Competence (you have some success the more you do it)
- Relatedness (you share the experience with others)
This means you can manufacture your own motivation by choosing an action that includes all three elements,” journalism professor Ted Spiker writes in Time.
Now we know how to reach them. So, what are your goals?