With 2017 approaching faster than Vicki Gunvalson to a juicy gossip fest (that she then denies being a part of, obviously), I find myself filled with hope for the new year. January 1st always feels like a fresh slate, and I’m excited to see where the new year takes my business! To me, December means cutting back on clients so I can create focused plans for the upcoming year. If you’re determined to OWN 2017, here are the top four things you should do before smashing a pomegranate on your porch on NYE!
The definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result. This is SO true when it comes to your business!
I often see business owners going through the same motions year after year, with little to show for their efforts.
This year, vow to be different! Take some time in the next few weeks to evaluate each of these areas so that you can hit the ground with fierce speed in the new year! Being organized, strategic, and consistent are the keys to success, and these tips will help you design a business that rocks them all!
Branding
Most likely, your business has changed a bit since January 2016. More likely, YOU have changed a bit since January 2016!
As each year passes, it’s important to check in with your branding to ensure it still feels authentic and is appealing to your ideal clients (we’ll talk about those fabulous folks next!). Perhaps some elements of your branding were super trendy when you introduced them, but now they feel a little stale. Maybe your writing skills have improved like crazy, and your brand’s voice needs a makeover. Could be that your focus has shifted regarding who you want to attract and/or what you’re offering and you need a complete branding overhaul to reflect that.
I guarantee if you go through all of the things that make up your branding (your website, marketing materials, blog posts, newsletters, emails, social media posts, etc.) you can find some tweaks to make! Take the next few weeks to make those changes.
While you’re at it, make updates to your website and social media accounts! Add in new images, update your bio’s, and ensure your copy pops!
Check out these posts to learn my favorite branding tips (hint: it’s not just about the visuals!):
Taylor Swift Inspired Branding Tips
Branding Beyond the Visuals: Creating an Epic Brand
Ideal Clients
If you only focus on one thing before January, make it your ideal clients. I’m BEGGING you because this is the foundation you will be building your entire business upon.
You know that whole “if you build it they will come” idea? Well, it’s not as easy as it implies.
Your business needs to be built based on your ideal clients. What they want, what they need, their interests, their style, everything! Your business should revolve around them, and your decisions should be based on them.
You know that time you decided to go for glittery gold accents because YOU love them, even though your ideal clients are more subdued? Bad move.
Just as your branding has likely evolved over the past year, your ideal clients may have changed too! Perhaps the single people you used to market to are now married. Maybe you used to think stay-at-home-moms were your target market but you’ve started to notice working moms are more your jam.
Whether who your targeting has changed based on who you want to attract, or who the people you want to attract have become, you need to make sure your business reflects who those people are in 2017!
Take some time to sit down and get to know your ideal clients. Think about who they are, what is important to them, and why your business is perfect for them.
Want some help digging deep and creating detailed profiles for your ideal clients? Check out my client avatar guide! You can snag it for $5, which is about the same as one venti snickerdoodle hot chocolate at Starbucks (which is AUH-MAZING, by the way). It will walk you through taking your target market down to a science, so you can design your business in a way that makes your ideal clients scream “where have you been all my life?!”.
Get Organized
I’m a firm believer that the more organized you are, the more successful you will be.
When you spend less time searching for that paper, you KNOW you wrote that order down on, staring at your overloaded inbox, and
Look at your workspace and put some systems into place to keep track of clients, store clutter, and make your everyday operations go smoothly.
This applies to every single aspect of your business.
Most of us have at least one aspect of our business that we know could use a little help when it comes to organization. Whatever those projects are, tackle them!
When you sit down in January to go to work, it will be so much easier knowing you have processes, systems, and tools at your disposal that will help you work smarter instead of harder! Plus, working in a clean, organized workspace is just so much more pleasant!
If there’s an aspect of your business you’d like to organize, but you’re not sure where to start, tell me about it in the comments. I’d be happy to help you make some plans!
Create a Marketing Plan
Flying by the seat of your pants is rarely good for business.
When you sit down and create a marketing plan for the entire upcoming year, you may be amazed how much more successful your efforts are!
Did you run a Black Friday sale that you threw together a week before and pushed out there for one day, only to hear nothing but crickets?
That’s because often, marketing is much more effective when you’ve primed your ideal clients! Plus, the longer you have to plan, the more incredible your offering will be!
Sit down and figure out when you will offer specials, and create launch plans for each of those deals. Write down your important dates in your planner now, so that you’re never caught off-guard when one of your special dates sneaks up on you and throws you into a panic.
In addition to important offerings and launch dates/plans, write in time off. Taking some days now and then to relax and enjoy life is SO important and can be HUGE for business! The happier you are, the more that will carry over to your business. Burnout doesn’t look good on anyone!
I typically take mid-December through mid-January off so that I can focus on my business and enjoy the holidays. I also take off most days my daughter is off school (with the exception of summertime, though I do take on fewer clients in the summer!). When I go through and write in those dates ahead of time, it makes scheduling conflicts a lot less likely to happen!
Other things that are important to plan ahead for are:
- Price Increases
- Website Updates
- Networking Ideas
- Progress Check-Ins: Schedule times to check in with your business and see how well you’re progressing towards your set goals. Take stock of what is working, what isn’t working, and how you can make some changes that will improve your business!
- New Product/Service Launches
Want some tips on creating your marketing plan? Check these out:
Intimidated by Marketing? Try This!
4 Steps to a Killer Marketing Plan
2017 is the start of an all-new chapter, let’s make it a good one! If you focus on these four things for the remainder of 2016, you’ll be on your way to designing a fantastic year.
Remember, you can choose any time to revamp your business! If something isn’t working, change it. If you want to go in an entirely new direction, go where the wind takes you.
While January 1st feels like a natural fresh start, YOU can decide when to start over!
May 2017 be a year filled with laughter, love, success, and fulfillment.
Oh, and Olivia Pope. Because she returns to save the world in January (the 19th to be exact) and I am FREAKING THRILLED.
What are your biggest goals for 2017? Shout them out in the comments!
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