An Inside Look at 10 Entrepreneurs with Winning Business Resolutions
Around this time of year, entrepreneurs are mastering double-duty when it pertains to New Years resolutions. Generally speaking, this includes two types of resolutions – a commitment to personal goals and to business objectives. Goals are advantageous for many reasons. Not only do they map out your intentions to achieve specific plans but with proper goal setting you are more likely to get where it is you want to go. Dreams, imaginations and countless ideas are great – but without a plan and action they are useless i.e. ‘not so great’. After all, how do you hit a target that you aren’t aiming for…?
Well, we set out on a quest across the globe – literally – to find and reveal some winning business resolutions for the New Year. From ditching the blackberry to sparking viral buzz and much more – hopefully our brave entrepreneurs will help you locate your inspiration and truly make it a Happy New Year!
1. Leaving the Blackberry Behind…
“Going on a cruise with my husband and enjoying it, even without my Blackberry, e-mail, Skype or Web access.”
Shama Kabani, Marketing Zen Group, Dallas, TX
2. Emphasize Learning
“I am going to keep in mind one of my favorite quotes by Andy Warhol ‘Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art.’ Next year I am going to look at my businesses from different angles and with a more artistic eye. I am going to emphasizing learning in every way I can this year which will enable me to see from new dimensions!”
Jessica Howe, Stealing Here and Now and Dimensions New England, Boston, MA
3. Spark Viral Buzz
“HowsTheLiving.com seeks to fill the information gap for student housing at colleges and universities worldwide. In 2011 our strategic focus is providing a platform for students to discuss, evaluate, and to get informed on conditions of apartments, residence halls, and host families. We plan to spark viral buzz and grow our membership base and to attract institutional funding so that we can continue to allow students to voice their housing concerns so that they can make informed decisions.”
Aeron Glover & Kaliv Parker, HowsTheLiving.com Inc., Knoxville, TN
4. Sign up at Least 11,000
“My #1 business goal for 2011 is to sign up at least 11,000 women for my “Money Rules” eCourse offered in conjunction with Sympoz.com.”
Manisha Thakor, Women’s Financial Literacy Initiative, Houston, TX
5. Less Talk, More Action
“There is one thing that really affects me when I speak to some of my friends, it is talking to me about the “fantastic business idea” they have again and again. While it’s great to be evaluative, those who stay in this mode are the ones who will unfortunately never find success because they avoid the risk of failure, and choose to talk about it and never take action. If this sounds like you, then do yourself a favor in 2011; stop talking and start doing. You might be surprised at the final outcome.”
Matthew Toren, Young Entrepreneur & Blogtrepreneur, Scottsdale, AZ
6. Net One Million
“To net 1 million in profits.”
Felicia Joy, Ms. CEO Inc., Atlanta, GA
7. Build a Social Empire
“To really build an online profile by starting a blog and keeping an active twitter, facebook and linkedin account. Social media now plays an imperative role in business, somewhat of a pseudo CV, only far more effective. It’s an instant indication of who you are, who you know and what you’re capable of achieving. Traditional CV’s are obsolete, a thing of the past. A successful online profile, immediately reveals the value one can add. That, is paramount to building the right relationships and foundations for a successful EMPIRE!”
Chad Yesilova, Innovative Beverage Co., Melbourne, Australia
8. Finish It!
“Finish my health & fitness book and get it published.”
Alejandra Aguirre, FitnessAli, Vancouver, BC, Canada
9. Stay on Our Side of the Street
“Bella Life’s #1 business resolution is to stay on our side of the street! Starting a business cannot only be challenging financially but emotionally as well. Throughout our first year of business we have had many exciting moments, but the thing that gets us stuck and feeling discouraged the fastest is our quick ability to compare which always leads to despair. So our resolution for 2011 is to make sure that we embrace where we are, acknowledge our growth, and keep the focus off what others are doing as everyone has their own beautiful journey and no journey is more valuable than the other.”
Nitika Chopra, Bella Life, New York, NY
10. Be Different
“Don’t just grow – be different.”
John Falchetto, Expat Life Coach, Avignon, France
Thanks for sharing Erica. All the best for 2011!Keep rocking the entrepreneur world.
Thanks John! Ditto. Have a Happy New Year.
LOVE Nitika Chopra’s resolution. Oprah said something similar when she was training for the marathon and that was something like “it took too much energy to look over to peak at her ‘competition’ while running that it took her off track”.
Absolutely – they are all great. Nitika’s in particular is truly authentic and something that every entrepreneur faces. I love her approach to winning in 2011.