Summary: Psst…. Sign up for the Stretch Yourself Challenge here! Counting down to the end of 2012… how do you feel about what you’ve accomplished this year? Let’s count our Blessings first. Oh so many blessings for me! I’ve worked with talented business partners – that’s got to be my number one blessing. I’ve revamped or launched many new information products, wrote and self published a book, grew my small blog network’s traffic and income… I’ve had the chance to work with many interesting new clients too. Overall, my business is in better condition now then it was back in January. Now let’s give the year a kind critique. What opportunities came and went that we had to say a regretful no to? It’s not possible to be up for every good idea that comes down to road, but it’s sad to not feel prepared to jump into something that would have a positive impact on your business. For me, it was often an issue of having the time and energy to act. There wasn’t a lot I could do about that except to manage what I had and make the smarted decisions I could at the time. Basically, I ask myself things like: Is the opportunity so good that it warrants funneling some energy towards it? (Will I reach new people in my target market?) Can I act at a level necessary to truly take advantage of this? (Do I have the energy and ability to concentrate?) Can I leverage this to accomplish what I’m focusing on right now? (Will it funnel the people nicely towards my ____ project? Is the project ready for eyeballs?) If I can say yes to these questions, I’ll go for it. If can’t, I’ll give it a pass. A few times this year I noticed that my clients will be presented with a very good opportunity to reach their market – but they have a hard time taking full advantage of it. They can’t say yes to enough questions. More often than not it boils down to one thing: Something Isn’t Ready. The Website isn’t ready – the sales page isn’t finished, the Mailing List isn’t fully set up, the Shopping Cart system hasn’t been chosen, the Info Product is in pieces on their hard drive… they’re just not ready and so the only answer to opportunity is to wave as it passes by. I can accept this situation – sometimes things are simply in process and that’s that. But when the situation spans an entire year – we’ve got a problem. Some how, something’s got to get finished or the missed opportunities are going to pile up in their minds and the weight WILL crush them. Don’t be a chronic starter. Don’t let yourself get caught up in the details to such an extent that nothing ever gets done. Learn to be a Finisher! Finishers start a project with the end in mind. Finishers set and meet deadlines. Finishers work from a task list. Finishers know what they’re going to do and what they’ll outsource. Finishers are motivated by the finish and make it happen. Finishers love other Finishers :) They know each other on sight. They partner with one another, they promote one another, they buy from one another. So what is unfinished in your business right now? Can you decide right now to make the most of this last month of 2012? Can you finish it? You’ll be so amazingly proud when do – and you’ll blow into 2013 with a new attitude! Have you ordered your Kindle Copy of Solopreneurs are Smarter yet? Grab it here – It’s FREE on Cyber Monday Only!
