Feeling Lost in Your Own Business

by Jill Crossland

You have worked within the expectations of your bank and accountant for your fiscal year. You have provided your clients and customers with quality products and services. You have taught yourself about web sites & search engines, stretched your advertising dollars to the maximum and networked every conceivable event that you have attended.  In the midst of all that, how are you feeling about your business?

As the year comes to a close, it may be time to take a look at the heart and soul of your business and that is you. Are you still feeling passionate about your work and the business that you started? If the answer is “no” make some time in your schedule to examine why. The lull that occurs after Christmas and before the second week in January is ideal. So pencil yourself in, then grab some paper, a mug of your favorite hot beverage and ……. 

Reconnect with Your Business

1. The Dream
   I always tell my clients to file away all their initial paper work; even the stuff on the cocktail napkins. This will remind you why you started your business and help to rekindle that original spark. It will also enable you to identify the areas where you may have gotten off track in the ensuing months and years.
2. The Reality
   Ask yourself the following questions:
   How does your day start?
   
   1. How do I feel in the morning when I first get up?
   2. Where are these emotions coming from?
   During the day, examine your ongoing feelings about the business.
   
   3. What worries me or just doesn’t feel right.
   4. What do I enjoy?
   5. What still gets my blood flowing?
   Look at the people who make up your business team.
   
   6. When I meet with _______ what do I really think about their suggestions and expectations?
   Know when it is time to hire someone new for your business.
   
   7. Has our working relationship become stale and become non-productive?
   8. Is this person in synch with what I want for my business? (Be a little cautious with this question, healthy disagreement and discussion is vital to any business.)

   Write down the best ways to handle negative emotions and influences that may have revealed themselves in this area. The day to day running of your business will be much easier when you have rebuilt a foundation that puts you back in a positive frame of mind and back in charge of how you want your business to run.

3. The Vision
   Based on what you have discovered in the first two steps, set your goals; not just the sensible ones but also the ‘dream ones’. You never know what may happen in the next 365 days. If you haven’t clearly identified and written down your goals and dreams you might overlook an opportunity for growth and fulfillment.

Once this is all completed be sure to keep the paper work in a proper file and always know where it is. Now you can start to move forward; recharged with the passion and energy that got your business off the ground on day one.

Print this page    Recommend this page