The year is fast coming to a close. Are you wondering whether you can end the year strong or should you just give up on your incomplete business goals?
This is a topic that recurs in my coaching sessions at this time of the year. I’m also a victim of the same challenge sometimes when I look at the list of goals and identify some that are lagging behind.
Is there hope then?
Yes, there is. Here are 5 tips to help you finish strong.
What Will It Take to End the Year Strong?
In a coaching session last week, one of my clients noted that she had given up on her main goal for this quarter. Some unexpected challenges had cropped up over the last 4 weeks and she was feeling too tired to try anymore.
Given that this is a time-sensitive goal, one that will be rendered obsolete if she doesn’t work on it, we had to come up with something that will help her end the year strong!
Here are some tips I shared with her.
1. The goal does not change
It may be tempting to change or downgrade a major goal or even abandon it altogether. Don’t fall into that trap. Don’t change your goal. Keep working on it and force yourself to continue whether you feel like doing the work or not.
2. Think like a marathoner
Imagine you’re running a marathon and you’re still lagging behind. Would you give up or would you give yourself one last push forward to see how far ahead you can get?
Choose to give that push and then do all that you can to get ahead before the end of the year. Be that marathon runner who sprints to the end of the race.
3. You are your biggest saboteur or your biggest cheerleader
No one knows you better than yourself. And no one can help you get ahead or fail.
Only you can do the inner work that’s required. Someone else can train, coach and motivate you. However, the biggest and most sustainable motivation comes from within.
Are you willing to dig in deep and find that core of strength that has worked for you before, and then use it to end the year strong?
4. Show up strongly
You need to show up powerfully both online and offline. There was a time when you could get away with not having a strong online presence but that time has passed.
The same also applies across the board online. For example, I see people showing up strongly on social media, but their websites are incomplete. So when you send people to your site, they leave very fast or get confused! This makes you lose ground.
Other people show up strongly offline and then send people to their online platforms where they rarely show up or have a weak presence.
If you seriously want to end the year strong, especially in business, you have to show up strongly both online and offline.
- Pick one social media platform, complete your profile, and show up there regularly.
- If you’ve been avoiding physical meetings, the festive season is a great time to network and get clients. Just make sure that you avoid making these common networking mistakes.
- At the time of writing this article, the Kenyan economy had been opened up but other countries are still in COVID-19 lockdowns. If this is the case for you and you can’t attend physical meetings, polish your online presence and double your efforts there.
Let go a bit deeper when it comes to websites. Always keep in mind that your website or blog is your virtual storefront. If your storefront doesn’t look appealing or if your Google Analytics statistics paint a bleak picture, then it’s time for a website/blog revamp.
Give yourselves a strict deadline to get your online storefront attractive to potential clients. This will also make it easier for other people to refer prospects to you.
5. Set up or boost your mailing list
You may have heard before that the money is in your mailing list. That is not a lie…your wealth literally lies in your mailing list.
Part of your plan to end the year strong should include boosting your list or setting up an email newsletter if you don’t already have one. You can communicate with your subscribers weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Choose one of these 3 schedules and start sending out your newsletter before the year ends.
You don’t know how to set up or grow your mailing list? Use this free online course from Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income. It’s quite comprehensive and very easy to follow even if this is your first time working with mailing lists.
Mailing lists work. I’ve had people who have subscribed to our email newsletter for years and then one day, they call or sign up for coaching. I call this newsletter my non-intrusive marketing tool because it puts me in people’s faces on a regular basis by their consent.
Get people onto your mailing list and boost your marketing from there.
What will it take for you to push and end the year strong?
It’s one thing to give up on your goals because the year is ending and another to give the goals a boost.
When you give up, you’re essentially telling yourself that all the marketing you’ve done throughout the year was wasted effort. You’re also telling yourself that it’s OK to end the year without results.
Pick one of the five of the ideas shared above, implement it diligently over the coming weeks, and see what happens to your bottom line.
Give it your all and see what manifests. When you do so, you have a higher chance to end the year strong compared to someone who has given up on their goals.
Do you need help with your business goals?
If you’re a woman in business, check out the Finish Strong Challenge which is a mastermind that is crafted specifically for women like you.
This 12-week business mastermind is ideal if:
- You’re a solopreneur or self-employed professional.
- You have a part-time business while holding a full-time job.
- Are in business full-time and have a team of 1-5 employees.
You get to focus on building or growing your business with support and accountability from me and other members of your group.
Click here to find out more about the Finish Strong Challenge.
(Images courtesy of Pexels)
