Re-post from January 2017.
The New Year is not the only time you need to stop and re-evaluate your business and where it is going. Take time each month to adjust the things that are and are not working. Getting your business and your own creativity back on track should be a regular part of your business health.
A brand new year is a perfect time to re-evaluate your business goals and to take the time to see what changes can be made to make THIS the year where your business and creativity grows like never before.
I am sharing 5 tips to get your business off to a beautiful start in the new year…
-Family First
The beginning of the year is the perfect time for my family to sit down and re-evaluate our schedule, what we want to change and how we can better hear and see each other. Since my first Building a Creatively Made Business online class I have been sharing that your business goals and family goals need to run parallel and build each other up. The hope and goal is that the strength in each helps to have success in each. If they are fighting against each other one or both will fail. This takes honest conversations, compromise and sometimes getting help where you need it. If you have others in your life that are impacted by your business I encourage a family meeting to hear the pulse of what you hold the dearest.
-Let Something Go
Building and running a business is a hard and tiring job. It takes an honest (and healthy) person to admit where they are falling short and could use some help. Sometimes this can be big things that you are not experienced or strong in and other times it is the jobs that not only you can do. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. I know that when you are still building your business it can be hard to pay others to do some of the things where you are not skilled. We have paid someone from the very beginning to help with our blog and website design and our branding. We couldn’t afford NOT to have someone help us in this area. It has made all of the difference. Over the years we have needed help with household things that we were not getting to. We have also had contractors and artisans create for us, help with shipping, design work and admin work. We need them and if we want to create the family that we want we have to let something’s go.
-Honor Your Word
We have all said yes to things that we didn’t want to do and it kept us from doing the things we really desired. It kept us from doing the things that we were made for. This is big stuff. Let your yes be yes and your no be no. Meaning, that if you say yes make sure you give it your all. To do that, you have to say no to most other things. What did you say yes to in 2016 that you should have said no to? What did you say yes to that you wanted to do but because you said yes to too many other things you did a poor job? If you are going to grow your business you have to know where to put your energy and when you do it it should be with your whole heart. Saying no just may set you free in 2017.
-Collaborate
Do you have a person in your business world (or outside of it) that you have been dying to work with? What do you have to lose? They can say no and you try another person. What if they say yes! Some of my most joyful and creatively expanding work has been collaborating with other artists and business men and women I admire. Working with others has brought financial and creative success again and again. I have also learned business lessons that I would have missed without the collaboration. Collaborations also get you out of your head and out of your comfort zone. Priceless.
-Do Something Scary
It is never perfect when you start, there is never enough money to do everything and you have to make the time to pursue your calling. These are just truths to life and business. I know you have something scary that you want to do this year BUT….No, jump in. It won’t be perfect, you won’t have it all together, if you want it bad enough you will find the money and you will make the time. Do something scary this year. Guess what? You then learn by doing that scary things are only scary for a short time and you walk through them and do the next scary thing. When you look back you will see years of walking through scary things that turned into collaborations, expansion, big art, travel, being vulnerable, authentic relationships, adventure….the list goes on. Just one thing. Pick just one thing this year and see the beauty that comes out of doing scary things.
If you are interested in building or growing your business I would love to talk with you. I have a small amount of consulting openings each month and would love to share my rates with you and help you build your own creative business. You can contact me at contact@jeanneoliverdesigns.com.
You may want to schedule a business consultation if…
*You have been dreaming about a business idea and don’t know where to begin
*You are feeling stuck in your current business and want to brainstorm how to revive your creative business
*You feel overwhelmed by your current business and need to say no to some things so you can say yes to your true passions
*You want direction with blogging, your website or social media
*You want help creating a consistent look and feel within your brand
*You are not sure what your brand is and how to define it
*You just need fresh eyes on your business
*You have questions about collaborations
*You want to find out how to get published and how to get your work seen
*You need another creative who has been there and is there to bounce ideas off of
If you are interested in reading more in our Building a Creatively Made Business Series:
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