How to make 2020 the Best Year Yet in your Business!

I am starting this year full of energy, plans and inspiration because I want to help as many business owners as I can to have a great year and decade!  In this blog I share 6 things that I found have really, genuinely helped my business grow, and helped my clients’ businesses grow too.

These things work – if you are an ambitious coach, consultant or business owner you might like to try them in your business.

Do these 6 things without delay if you want to grow your Business in 2020:

1. Take some time out to reflect on what you did last year – think about what really worked for you and what didn’t

Decide if you want to:

  a. Replicate them
  b. Change them
  c. Ditch them

The key here is to do more of what worked in your business and less of what didn’t.

2. Think about the great clients that you’ve worked with 

Answer these questions to find any common factors / trends / traits in your client base:

 a. Why was the relationship / transaction so successful?
 b. Why did you achieve so much together?
 c. Why did you go “above and beyond” to help them so much?

Now take a step back and see if there is any commonality between the clients or the services they received.

Knowing your ideal client is absolutely key to running a successful business and now is an excellent time to review your ideal client Avatar.

If you don’t know who your ideal client is, you are going to waste an awful lot of time, energy and money; you will have scatter gun marketing campaigns and you won’t be in a position to give great service as you won’t understand what the pain is that you are hoping to remove or reduce for your clients.

Do the answers to any of the questions above mean that you need to change, update or re-write your ideal client Avatar?

Create an ideal client Avatar that works for you.  If you need more help understanding the importance of knowing your ideal client and want to know how to create your own Avatar, click on this link to download my eBook which contains a Step-by-Step guide.

3. Set Goals, real goals, not New Year’s resolutions

Goal setting is one of the most common habits that successful people have.

But don’t just set them – really think about them and talk about them (if you can’t verbalise your goals and share them, how are you going to achieve them?). Better still, make yourself accountable for achieving those goals.  I’m a member of Bigger Brighter Bolder Success Groups and we have a brilliant goal setting system with accountability built in. I know I’m really lucky to be part of that.  But if you don’t have a goal setting system or you don’t have that type of group, set goals and share them with a partner (business or life), a close friend even, but make yourself accountable.  If you do, your chances of achieving your goals increase to over 90%!

Make your goals achievable but aspirational – stretch yourself, but do have an action plan, scheduling time to work towards them. Literally set aside time in your diary.  Break your 2020 goals down into quarters and months and you can then work out what you need to do week by week, day by day, to achieve those goals. Rome wasn’t built in a day and you don’t run a marathon overnight – you build up to it, you train for it, you work towards it.

Setting good goals and working towards them is life-changing – it’s one of the key reasons I have achieved so much in the last decade!  I found out whilst watching this Ted Talk on Goal setting that every Google employee sets goals, not as part of their appraisal or targets, just to work towards and to celebrate achieving them.

4. Be positive! 

Positivity is contagious.  I love sharing quotes. I love reading quotes. I love the motivational and inspirational ones but sometimes I’m not quite sure how to “get there” – how to “do it”.

I decided to look for some supporting material to help deepen my connection with these quotes – particularly those regarding more positive energy.  I have been watching some of the fabulous Ted Talks. They contain such a wealth of information from really watchable, personable, entertaining, eminent people.

Here are a couple of my favourites:

The first is:

It’s common to think that if we are successful we will be happier – but that’s the wrong way around.  And it’s better than that. A positive attitude can increase productivity by over 30%!  Watch this Ted Talk to find out more about how that all works and how you can rewire your brain in 21 days by spending 2 minutes a day on things like journaling; thinking of things you are grateful for; and thanking other people.

I see this increase in productivity all the time with my clients and myself – when we are in a “good place” we think more creatively and problem solve more easily.

The second is:

This talk, by a brilliant Harvard Business School Professor, is all about trust and the three main components you need to have in alignment – it’s fascinating stuff.

5. Think about your systems and processes 

I love bringing systems and processes to life for my clients; I help them understand that having good systems and processes in place will be life-changing and a necessity to get a business to the next level.

To succeed in business, you must have systems and processes in place which support your goals and help you engage with and offer great service to your ideal client.  The right ones will free up your headspace, reduce stress, and give you more time.  Combine this with your increased productivity, by being more positive, and you will have an amazing 2020 – you will have more time and do more with that time.  Check out my 3 Achievable Growth Hacks video – it’s time well spent and will set you up for a great year!

6. Be Authentic

All of the above ties in really well with the final point I want to share – one which we hear a lot about yet many struggle with. Be authentic.  I’m sure it’s no surprise to you to hear that authenticity is one of the three components of building trust covered in the second of the Ted Talks I mentioned above.

People see through you if you’re not authentic, so be authentic – what have you got to lose?  Live the life that you want to live.  Work with the people that you want to work with, be they suppliers or clients.  Clients will resonate better with you if you are authentic.  Don’t be afraid. You won’t be reducing your market size. There may be other people out there who are doing what you do, but nobody does it in the way that you do it.  Really think about what you bring to the party – what you do to add value to your clients – and celebrate being authentic.

In summary, spend some time ascertaining what worked well for your business last year. Be clear about who you want to work with and what you offer them. Set great goals which you are accountable for and be authentic and positive with the right systems and processes in place to support you.

It really is that simple.  All of this will lead to an increase in revenue as more and better clients connect and want to work with you.  You will be able to reduce sales costs with repeatable processes in place that give you time – and money-saving efficiencies. With increased revenue and decreased costs, you’ll see a rise in net profits, setting you up for the best year to date in your business.

 

How I can support you

My goal is to help you, as a business owner, to grow your business by getting the most value out of your three most valuable assets:

1. Your contacts/data
2. Your processes and systems
3. Yourself

When you make the most of your contacts/data you are in the best place possible to increase your revenue. When you have efficient, repeatable processes in your business, you reduce the cost of sales. Both of these give the business owner more head space to focus on growing their business.

The overall result is an increase in net profit.

I’m always happy to have a chat – you can contact me at julia.blake@blakeconsultants.co.uk and sign up to receive my Growth Hacks Bulletin too 🙂

I have been working with CapsuleCRM for over 9 years and helped many clients increase revenue, reduce costs, make the most of their contacts, manage their pipeline and deliver great customer service.

I do this by designing and installing Capsule to meet the client’s needs, offering a bespoke CRM to suit their business requirements. Capsule really is a great solution for coaches, consultants and business owners and when it is integrated with Mailchimp and Xero you have really solid foundations in place to grow your business.

To find out more or arrange a time to discuss how I can help you, please contact me.