How to Meet Your Top Small Business Goals

You’ve been growing your business for a while, but maybe you’re stuck you feel that you’ve hit a wall and need some direction.Or maybe you are your business is soaring and ready to move to your next level. But you are not sure where to start.
Here are 3 ways to help you make progress towards your business (and maybe other)goals :

Invest in your education. Many times we are hesitant to pay for a course or conference that can help us get to where we want to be. Let’s face it, Google is great, but at some point we may not even know what to Google. Take advantage of online courses, business conferences, books, podcasts, etc. Check out our Resilient Conference playback here.
Find some business accountability partners. Everyone needs business buddies- people who will ask you the tough questions and hold you accountable for the things you need to do. Our Facebook group Makers Making Moves connects you to a private group of entrepreneurs just like yourself who also have similar goals and needs.
Write down your goals and make sure they are SMART goals. Be sure to outline action steps and timelines for each goals.

Specific (simple, sensible, significant).
Measurable (meaningful, motivating).
Achievable (agreed, attainable).
Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based).
Time bound (time-based, time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive).

Let us know what some of your goals are and which of methods have helped you stay on track with your business goals.

At the start of the year, most people are focused on goal setting . The same is true for small businesses. We get a change to envision our businesses progressing and dream big dreams.Here are 5 of the most common small business goals :Increase profitability of businessBe more productiveImprove business processesScale business for maximum growthImprove time management

Which goals would you add to this list? Which goals would you omit?

by J. Harris

3 Changes You Can Make Now to Improve Your Year

We all come into the new year with new aspirations and goals we want to achieve. Sometimes we focus on the big goals and neglect the smaller ones. We want to remind you of three changes you can start to make right now that will yield results in your personal and business life.

Step Up Your Consistency – Are you consistent in any habit that you want to develop or that you need to develop? Can your tribe count on you to deliver a service or a product consistently? Consistency may mean daily, weekly, monthly, etc. Whatever you define it to be for the area you desire to grow in, it is important to stick with it. If you want to reach out to family more, set a schedule (i.e. I will reach out to three family members each week) and stick to it as much as possible. If it is a business goal, define your parameters and go for it.
Value Yourself More – The way we value ourselves typically will set the pace for how others value us. Whether in business or relationships, we can’t expect others to see more in us than we see in ourselves. Placing more value on yourself may mean that you invest in your self more, change your self talk, or reevaluate the way you see yourself.
Clear the Clutter – The more clutter we get in our lives, the more desensitized we get to it. Clutter can be our thoughts, our email, our physical space or anything that hinders us from being our best selves, anything that can potentially be a mental or creative block for us. Block out an hour or more if you can spare and pick one cluttered aspect that you can clear out.

Small steps will lead to big yields. You can’t do it all at once, but you can do something. What else would you add to this list?

New Year, New Creative

New Year, New Creative
By – Ciatta-Mae Stubblefield

“When creativity is seen as a luxury or something we do when we have spare time, it will never be cultivated. When I make creating a priority, everything in my life works better”.

When I came across this statement while reading Brene Brown’s “The Gifts of Imperfection”, I inhaled truth and exhaled hope (sidebar-This book is life changing). She was right. I had plenty ideas about being creative but between the never ending laundry and the sink that always seemed full of dishes, creativity took a back seat. But something deep inside of me longed for the peace that you receive by making time to express yourself creatively. So in this new year, I want to make time to cultivate creativity.

Here are three things I plan to do to make time for my craft life.

1. Create space – Set up an area that you can gather all your creative supplies, tools and materials. Whether it’s a craft bucket or craft desk, place everything in an area so you don’t have to run around when you make the time. Think about what you can do to make the area a space that reflects your unique personality.

2. Create time- If this does bundles for refreshing our souls, then we gotta make the time. Sometimes projects may be spontaneous but other times we just have to carve out regular time on our calendar and protect that time.

3. Create community – Find people who will celebrate your love of creativity. Come out to our Craft Savvy Market on March 10th and meet other creatives. Find a friend or two and throw a craft party. You could join a local meet up group or connect with a Facebook group. Whatever you do, connect with other creatives.

Let’s make this year our most creative year ever!