We can’t believe that 2016 is coming to an end. Shocking, isn’t it? How did you and your business fare this year? Did you achieve what you wanted to? Did you reach your goals, expand, try something new, grow, get a bigger staff? Did you get what you wanted out of 2016? If your answer is “No,”– that’s okay. Life is full of setbacks, and sometimes those setbacks offer opportunities. Everything can be spun to be slightly more positive, which means you can look at any setbacks you and your business may have experiences as a chance for learning and growth.
At SignCast, we grew a lot this year, but there’s always room for improvement. Here are our tips on how to help grow your business in 2017– tips that helped us and tips that we’re going to use in 2017 as well. On this, the fifth day of SignCast’s Christmas campaign, we wanted to share our favourite tips with you and a few more of our most loyal customers.
Thanks for being here. We hope you like them.
It’s easy to want to dominate whole fields and be the master of everything. Unfortunately, not everyone is a master of all trades. Most of us have one or two, maybe three, things that we’re exceptionally good at, or very well knowledgeable in. Stay focused on those things and do them well. Think you’re good at what you do or what your company offers? Well, guess what? Not to harsh your mellow, but there’s probably someone out there doing it better than you. And that shouldn’t set you back! Yeah, you want to be the best. As you should– nothing should drive you more than the desire to grow your business. Gary Vaynerchuk has an incredible quote that we like to think about when doubt starts to settle in: “Just because you aren’t first doesn’t mean you can’t be best.” Think about that for a little while.
It’s true: life is short. Realistically, life is the longest thing you do, but what about making something of it? The days are only 24 hours long, and you need to spend time sleeping as well if you really want to be productive (not sleeping takes a toll on your health, which in turn, damages your productivity). Don’t sit around wasting time, thinking about all the things you want to do and wishing that you were moving forward. Stop wishing, stop saying you want to do something and actually do it. Otherwise, suddenly it’ll be a year from now and you’ll be in the exact same spot as you are now, wishing you were somewhere better while not acting on your desires at all. And of course, there’s always the need to want to finalize something to perfection before you launch it. That perfectionism might kill you and your business! First of all, nothing is ever perfect, and secondly, you’ll likely find plenty of bugs and mistakes along the way, so you may as well launch it now. Sometimes, it’s not about perfection, but rather about execution. Get yourself and your product/idea/service/business out there. If you believe in it, other people will too! Moreover, since time is your greatest asset, you need to learn how to manage it– therefore, our business tip here is “time management.” Organize your time wisely. Don’t waste it doing random, pointless tasks that won’t bring you closer to your goals. Think carefully before you commit your time to something, and always be sure to track time so that you can get better, faster, more efficient and more productive in the future and therefore have more time to move forward in other avenues. Efficiency is key! Use tools such as Trello or Zoho Projects to organize your time and task manage yourself and your team and see where time is being wasted and where it can be saved.
It’s easy to think you have laser-like focus on what you want, and even easier to trick yourself into believing you have that when in reality, you’re sitting around on your couch at 8 p.m. covered in Cheeto dust and all the predictable regret. Strange, isn’t it? One minute you have a brilliant business idea, and the next you’re 12 episodes into season three of Friends, even though you’ve already seen it before at least six times. Uhhh.. Basically, what we’re trying to say is, it’s easy to lose focus. Don’t blame yourself– it happens. But try not to. Every day, wake up and make a to do list for the day with all the tasks organized by priority. Even better– organize the following month the month before, and same with weeks. Break everything down and break down your goals as well. Make smaller goals to help you on the road to achieving your bigger goals. You can’t get to 100 right away– you have to work up to it. Just make sure that everything you’re doing from now until your end goal is going to help bring you there.
Bonus tip (Just because we like you): Don’t forget about marketing.
Everybody these days seems to have the “If you build it, they will come” type of mindset. Well, too bad that’s not true. Unfortunately, even if you build it and it’s awesome, amazing, cool, and beautiful, if you don’t advertise or market it properly, they definitely won’t come– simply because they won’t know about it. Marketing is important– crucial, even, to starting and running a business. Don’t forget what we shared with you earlier this week– our social media post and our SEO tips infographic to help you understand a little more about online and digital marketing. Of course, there’s traditional marketing, too, which is just as valid. Read as much as you can or hire a consultant or an agency to help you out with your marketing. Push your product or business or service– don’t just assume that people will come just because you have an amazing offer or deal. People need to be told about an amazing deal or offer first, and then they will come. Marketing! Works like magic!