Will 2021 Be Your Year?

Every year in December I have a retreat with my staff but because of the CV-19 pandemic, this time around we are holding it next month instead.  We meet to plan for the year ahead.

Back in the day I used to run my legal nurse consulting business in my garage (every good thing, like Apple Computers, started in garage, right?) and we would get a room at the local branch of the Indianapolis public library for these annual retreats.  We would bring in a poster-sized Post-it notepad, put it on an easel and, with different colored markers, map out our entire upcoming year.  We would then wallpaper the room with the posters from our creative planning.

Let me share with you some of my yearly planning secrets.

1. CELEBRATIONS. As business owners, we’re chasing a carrot on a stick, always looking for what’s next rather than looking back and celebrating all the things that went well and worked well during the previous year.  I promise you, if you acknowledge and celebrate your wins it will make growing your business a lot more fun as well as give you more joy and satisfaction.
2. WHAT’S WORKING AND WHAT’S NOT WORKING. Make a list of what has worked and what did not work in your business over the year.  When you recognize what is working, you can celebrate those accomplishments, as noted in item 1.  When you recognize what has not worked, you can figure out what is in the gap between what’s not working and working.  Sometimes you may not have a solution to what is in the gap but acknowledging it helps.  I have put people on the list who from my law practice, were difficult to work with.  And I would be shocked when those people had left their positions so I no longer had to deal with them.  So, even if you can’t do something to make it workable, other than being nice and professional, you can see that things have a way of working themselves out.
3. GOALS. Make a list of them and the strategy that you are going to use to achieve those goals.  The goals can be in terms of money, clients, programs, services … anything!  Be as specific as possible and make sure the goals are measurable so that you will recognize when you can celebrate completing those goals, again, as in item 1.
4. INTENTIONS. An intention is a predetermined outcome.  They are going to happen no matter what. However, you need to take action to make that happen.  Intention + Action = Results!  The only way that intentions do not work is either (a) you didn’t take action or (b) there was a competing intention that was bigger than this intention.  We always have 3 financial goals.  The first goal is a mandatory we-must-meet-this-goa.  The second goal is something we really want to strive for and our third goal is a shoot-for-the-moon goal.  We work toward our goals with an anticipation of eventually reaping rewards.  My staff loves taking off the week between Christmas and New Year so that is one of our goals.  They also like financial bonuses as well and the financial bonuses go up as the 3 levels of our goals between the necessary, would be nice and shoot-for-the-moon goal.

Regardless whether you have been in business for a while or just starting your business, I strongly suggest that you write down these 4 areas so you can really map out the strategy to your success so your 2021 can be amazing!

If you would like more help with this process or if I can be of any assistance in helping you with any aspect of your business, feel free to schedule at
CallWithLorie.com.  Whatever way I can, I am always happy to assist at no charge to you and see if how I can help make 2021 your best year.