The end of the year is a popular time to take inventory of your business. With the Christmas holiday there is usually plenty of opportunity to reflect on where your business has been over the past twelve months. It can be a pretty eye opening exercise looking back at where you were just twelve months ago. Some of the strategies you had then may be completely different than where you are now. Regardless of where your business is or has been you need to turn the page and move forward to 2017. By taking some honest inventory of your goals and what you need to achieve them you can hit the ground running as soon as the calendar changes. Here are five ways to help plan and achieve your business goals for 2017.
- Write Out Goals. What do you want for the next twelve months of your business? Anyone can say they want to make as much money as possible. You need to write out as many specific, achievable goals as you can think of. As simple as it sounds most investors do not know what they want out of the business. They like the prospect of unlimited income potential but they aren’t specific as to what that really means. If you want to close enough deals to quit your day job put a financial number on how much you will need to make. If you want to earn extra income for your child’s school or for a nice vacation put that down on paper. It has been shown that people who physically write out their goals have a much higher chance at actually achieving them. The first step is the most obvious but often not done enough. Start by writing down everything you want to achieve for next year.
- Action Plan. How can you turn what you put on paper into reality? If the real estate investing business was easy anyone would do it. There will always be obstacles standing in your way. If you want to achieve your goals you need to identify what they are. Saying that you want to close more deals is great but how exactly are you going to do it. You may have to improve the amount of time spent networking or increase your lead generation. This may require you to attend monthly real estate investment clubs or stop into real estate offices a few times a week. Take some time to research the specific steps for what you need to make your goals a reality. With the down time from now until the end of the year it is the perfect time to do your homework.
- What Do You Need To Achieve It. If hard work ensured success there would be many people willing to make the sacrifice. The reality is that most people in business have the work ethic needed to succeed. Sometimes it takes more than that to achieve your goals. As you consider your goals think about what you need to do to achieve them. Is there any specific education that would help expedite the process? If so, where is the education offered and when are you going to find the time to do it. Do you need to find specific team members to help with your business? Identify who these people are and make a list of where you will find them. Do you have a full time job that is preventing your business from taking off? Is there any technology that would make balancing both jobs easier? Many people make excuses for not achieving their goals because they fail to acknowledge what they need to be successful. Sometimes just a little bit of help gives you the push you are looking for.
- Map Out A Routine. We are all creatures of habit. We often find ourselves doing the same things at the same time almost every day. If your habits are productive this can work to your advantage. If they are poor eventually your productivity will come to a screeching halt. As you think about your goals you need to consider how they fit with your daily routine. Write out specifically when you plan on doing everything you want to get done. The more specific you are with your routine the easier it is to follow. You should put your day into blocks with every minute accounted for. Of course there will always be curveballs thrown at you from time to time but when they happen you should deal with them and quickly bounce back. Your goals will only happen if you can visualize how you will fit them into your everyday life.
- Timeframe. Every New Year thousands of people commit to making resolutions. By the end of the month a large majority of those resolutions are over. With any goal you make you also need to commit to it for a certain amount of time. This means that regardless of your results and regardless of everything else you have going on you are going to stick to your action plan. Only after your 30, 60 or 90 day period you can evaluate what needs to be changed. While it doesn’t sound like too long but 90 days of change can be difficult. If you really want to achieve your goals you need to commit to them.
2017 is shaping up to be a great year in the real estate market. Make your list of goals now so you can hit the New Year running.
