2020 has been quite a year of change. Being in the trenches for the past several months, talking with both my corporate and private clients, it appears everyone is ready to get on with the new year! You probably feel it as well – change is in the air.
But there’s also some hesitation … How do we determine what the new in-demand consulting, coaching and training needs of 2021 are? How do we find a service that will accelerate our revenues through all of 2021, pandemic or not? Where is our new sweet spot in an entirely new world?
Don’t let unanswered questions keep you paralyzed. not just in 2021 but well into the unpredictable future.
And don’t forget, as business owners, when we go through times of upheaval, it’s an opportunity for us to change and grow personally.
Here are 5 steps you can take right now to ensure that you thrive right into the new year.
1) Set Goals that Support Your Growth
As you consider the new year we are about to embark on, do your goals align with your vision, purpose and passion? Don’t make the mistake of only making revenue goals. While they are very important to every business owner, go deeper. Ask yourself, how do you want to evolve as the CEO of your business over this next year? Is there a new process or way of doing things with clients that will stretch you outside of your comfort zone? Is it time for you to expand your business with new revenue streams so you cast a wider net?
2) Embrace a Possibility-Thinking Mindset
Remove your pandemic blinders and begin to see all the new opportunities around you. They are right there, but you have to become a to really see them. Then you need to think through how you can adapt your services to take advantage of these opportunities. Often, we can’t see the real opportunities right under our nose, because we are focused on all the obstacles, challenges and negative monsters chatting away in our head. That’s when an outside perspective helps. When I’m on the phone coaching one of my clients and they tell me what’s going on in their world, I inevitably see several golden opportunities they could seize right then and there.
3) Speed Matters
Take some time right now, not next year, to think about new business models that excite you. Pay attention to the types of services that are becoming more and more in-demand. This most likely will require that you do some research. Make time! I’ve been researching new, innovative service offerings for months. Whatever you decide is your next best move, do it quickly. Time is of the essence. The early bird gets the worm. It’s true, as we ready to move into a new world, it’s sometimes better to be first than perfect!
4) Research & Listen to Your Clients and Prospects
The absolute best research you can ever do is talking with former and current clients and prospects. Ask them powerful questions around what they are facing in terms of NEW challenges because of our massive change happening in the world. As I like to say, listen with your third ear for trends and patterns. Look for by expanding or doing new work to reinvent your business. I do this regularly, but right now if you are struggling with where to go next in your business or how to change your offers up, this research from people who know you is invaluable. Just like you can’t fly a plane while you’re building it, you want to have confidence before you “take off” with your new service offering. You want to know it’s going to gain momentum because you already have people lined up to sign-up and you know just how to market it.
5) Focus on Long-Term Business Innovation
In order to be truly sustainable, let me be clear that like if you missed your revenue goals by $30K, so you need to just make that $30K up in revenue. To innovate means that you are seeing the bigger picture and you are evolving accordingly. It’s about more than just making up lost revenue, it’s about giving you the in the long run.
When considering where to go in terms of innovative new business look for new areas of growth. If you work in corporate, as I do, consider changing your services to what organizations are looking for now in terms of growing their leaders. Look at what types of (as there are many) and how to position your services to get into those new industries. When working with individuals, ask yourself, what kinds of clients have the financial means to keep hiring me beyond a one-project program?
Times are changing, are you changing with them? From what I’m seeing right now, the business owners that are changing their services by 50% – 100% from their former pre-pandemic services, are the ones closing more business sales than those who are keeping their business models status-quo. Take some time over the next couple of weeks to work through the steps I shared with you, the more planning you do now, the more successful you’ll be in 2021.
Sarah’s Predictable Results Insights
- Ask yourself, how do you want to evolve as the CEO of your business over this next year?
- Which three clients could you reach out to this week to get insight into their challenges and learn how you can tailor your services to help them?
- Whether you work with private or corporate clients, who has money to spend in 2021?