4 commitments to make a grow a more profitable & purposeful business

By Monique Melton,  Business & Relationship coach, published author & motivational speaker

(The Guest Blogging Series: While Natalie is recovering from surgery, her friends have offered to bring you incredible content. Learn more about the author of this post at the end and be sure to leave some love.)

As the year is coming to an end and we’re gearing up for all things new in 2018, now is the best time to get intentional about how to make strong and realistic commitments to start the new year off strong. I’m a firm believer in taking time to think creatively and plan strategically. So, I want to share with you 4 commitments to make to grow a profitable and purposeful business.

1. Commit to Reflection

The days go by so fast and sometimes it seems almost impossible to sit down and reflect on all of the things we’ve experienced this year. If you’re not the best at keeping a daily journal, then something simple you can do to make sure you reflect on your business and life more regularly, is to schedule in time for reflection. Create an event in your calendar and make it an appointment to keep with yourself on a regular basis. Here’s a couple questions you could ask yourself as you reflect on the year:

1. What was the highlight of my year?
2. What lessons have I learned? And how can I share these with others?
3. What risk did I take and how did those risks work out for me?
4. How much time did I spend doing things I enjoy?
5. What habits have I developed that I want to keep?
6. What habits have I developed that I want to break?
7. What new relationships have a formed that I want to nurture?

Here’s some questions to ask yourself daily

1. What lesson did I learn today?
2. What am I grateful for?
3. What can celebrate today
4. What improvements would like to make for tomorrow?
5. Who did I encourage and support today?

Take some time before the year is over and reflect on these questions to help you think more thoughtfully about your experiences in 2017 and consider committing to the daily questions too.

2.  Commit to Connection

As a busy business owner, it can be so easy to let tasks come before people and experiences. The to-do lists are long and the responsibilities are plenty, but people matter. Relationships matter and if you want to continue to build and sustain a profitable and purposeful business while maintaining healthy relationships, then you definitely want to make time for real connection. Real connection isn’t the pseudo connection we get through words and videos on a screen. Social media is great, but it’s not fulfilling. Real connection is when you lock eyes with someone in the same room as you and you share a real and honest conversation with one another while remaining fully present in the moment. How often do you create and accept opportunities to connect with people in person? Here’s a few ways to make this a priority and a commitment in your business and life:

1. Look for local networking events in your community and commit to attending them regularly. Like the Rising Tide Society or your local Chamber of Commerce.
2. Schedule one-on-one or small group meet-ups in your community and commit to this regularly.
3. Plan to attend at least one in-person conference, retreat or workshop where you’ll have great opportunities to connect with people who are often in a similar stage of life or business as you.

3.  Commit to Plan

I know you’re trying to finish the year strong and prepare for the holidays, but planning is critical for your growth in 2018 and beyond. Do you already have a clear idea of what you’d like to accomplish in 2018? Now how do you plan to accomplish it? Do you have a detailed and realistic marketing plan?  What about a PR strategy? Here are a few tips to consider before you start planning:

1. Try to find strategies that best fit your personality and business. Avoid the temptation to do what everyone else is doing, especially if it’s not your style. There’s always exceptions to this, such as if you see a lot of people using video to engage with their audience, then this may be something to consider as it’s potentially a great way to build brand awareness and trust with your community. But be sure to add your personal style and energy to the videos. That means to focus on your “uniqueness factor” and highlight that so you are distinct. What’s the “uniqueness factor”? That’s the thing about you that makes you shine. It’s what makes you distinct and stand out in a crowded industry. It’s the reason why I should choose you over anyone else.

2. Consider your time, resources and budget. The best way to fail at keeping up with a plan is to make it unrealistic to the stage of life or business you’re in. Instead take a close and honest look at your schedule, resources and finances and plan accordingly. Now here’s a word of caution, if you only look at what you have to measure or determine what is possible, then you’ll simply remain where you are. So being mindful of your season is important, but it’s also important to take risks and step out of your comfort zone.

3. Review your plan with a fresh set of eyes and different perspective. How do you do this? This is where you bring in the support of a coach, because everyone has a business blind spot and we often can’t see the full picture because we’re too close to it. So, consider working with a coach in 2018 to help you develop a strategy to reach your goals.

4.  Commit to relationships

When I think about all of the success I’ve had in my business and how I accomplished it all, committing to relationships tops the list. But relationships can be tricky, because people are complex and imperfect. Which means expectations aren’t always clear and don’t always get met. We’re guaranteed to hurt one another at some point or another. So, it’s easy and tempting for us to withdraw from the commitment of relationships in an effort to protect ourselves. But to remove yourself from relationships, or to refuse to commit to building new and nurturing existing relationships would be denying yourself of the very thing we’re created for and what we crave the most: connection.

My encouragement for you is to make relationships a priority in your life, over things and over tasks. As you reflect on your commitment to relationships, consider these five questions:

1. What do I offer in relationships that positively affects the people around me?
2. In what ways can I better support the people in my lives?
3. Starting today, who can I commit to investing time and energy into in an effort to build and strengthen the connection between us?
4. Am I open to finding new relationships to nurture? If so, where can I find them. If not, why?
5. Who have I hurt, disappointed or let down? How can I work towards regaining their trust?

If you want to learn more about building business relationships, I’d like to invite you to check out my book EntrepreFriendships. It’s a simple and easy to read book on building relationships. It’s one of those books every entrepreneur should have in her back pocket. And, if I could give you one specific action to take before the year ends, it’d be this: make a list of business and personal development books you’d like to read in 2018 and create a plan to read them.

The best way to prepare for growth in 2018 is to spend time being creative and strategic. If you’ve got the creative side down, but coming up with strategic plans for growing and expanding a profitable and purposeful business, then let’s schedule a time to chat.

Now, tell me which of these 4 actions will you take action on today? What things are you doing to prepare for a successful 2018?

About Monique Melton

Monique Melton is a business & relationship coach, published author of the book EntrepreFriendships, a motivational speaker and diversity advocate. She coaches women in building profitable and purposeful businesses while maintaining healthy relationships. She travels the country speaking at conferences and events on topics related to business & relationships. She’s been published in magazines, featured in blogs and podcasts and has touched the lives and businesses of women all over the world. She is a natural big-bold dreamer and a deeply rooted woman of faith. She is a proud Navy wife and loving mother to two little ones. She has a BA in social science with an emphasis in sociology & psychology and two years of graduate school education in Clinical Counseling from Johns Hopkins University. She believes it’s not all about your comfort, but it’s about your growth. 

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Photo credit: Terri Baskin Photography