Tag Archives: planning

Let’s Get Started for New Years

Posted on December 6, 2013 | Leave a comment

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving week, where you’ve spent time with loved ones and those close to you. I’ve been spending a great time with loved ones as well, plus the cold winter temperatures that start to set the mood for Christmas. As we begin this week of December, now is the perfect time to make your goals for the New Year. Why wait until January to plan out your new goals, those new year resolutions do not work. A majority of those that make New Year resolutions give up on them after an average of 17 days, that’s scary isn’t it? So at this moment, what do you plan on doing for next year?

Is it a year to go big? To some yes to others, no. It’s ok and understandable, but as a quote I read stating don’t let time pass you by as if it does, you will regret having that same time back again. How do you know if next year is your year? Was this year not the year you had in mind?

I think a good course of action would be to take action right away. If this year wasn’t your year, why wait until January to start making steps. How about making next year your year by taking action as soon as possible. Plan your goals today, and start on them as soon as you can. If you’re planning on loosing weight for next year, get a head start. The busiest time of the month at the gym is January because of all the new year resolutions people make, of course it all settles down in February. But take the advantage, and start before the end of this year.

Let’s go out and make a difference in ourselves, flip the switch and let’s get going.

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What Now? Post Goal Achievement

Posted on October 17, 2013 | Leave a comment

After adding much effort and enthusiasm in setting up our goals, doing them step by step is part of the process, but what do we do when we’ve come to the point of completing them? I’ve been in this situation several times and after doing several research, there are steps that have helped and you can take after you have achieved a certain goal.

The question I’ve came across recently however is if the goals we set to put out, should be achievable? Tim Ferriss talks about this in one of his articles, and he states goals are not always meant to be achieved, rather are there to help you navigate close to where you want to get. I came to think this is true in a way because I’ve completed several certain goals in my past but after competing them, I’ve gone back to my old habits and feels like I’ve gained nothing there.

Of course it’s something to celebrate if we do come to the point where we’ve accomplished a goal we intended to, but what do we do afterwards?

One helpful advice I received was while planning your goals, make sure you have something leading it to another. In the case your mind becomes numb not knowing what to do, set out another goal bigger than the previous goal you’ve made. This was very helpful because all the experience and knowledge I gained trying to complete my first goal, helped me stay on track using the same resources I had to get to the other.

Another helpful advice is trying to stay motivated. As previously stated, after completing a goal, we tend to wine down back to the things we used to do. Instead find motivation by surrounding yourself with other people who’ve had the experience of completing their goals or by listening to audios that elevate you to strive for more.

With all the hard work we did to complete our goal, rewarding yourself would be the other option. By doing this you’re setting your mind to saying that there are benefits after accomplishing something. With that mentality, you are moving forward of what you did and you’re off to new heights you’ve planned out.

These are the steps I’m currently using after I’ve completed one goal, and hope they could be of good advice for you as well. What else do you do; that hasn’t been mentioned, after you’ve completed a certain goal? Do you agree that goals are not always meant to be achieved?

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Setting Up Our Goals

Posted on October 2, 2013 | 4 comments

What goals do we tend to set ourselves in life for? Have you accomplished them or have they slowly become disinterested and faded away? What techniques do you use to set your goals in life of what you want to achieve? I want to give you some advice of my own to describe to you what I do to set up and accomplish my goals.

One of the first things I do when preparing to set up goals is to go to a setting I know I will feel comfortable without being disrupted by others. It helps clear my mind and gives me more focus to what I want to achieve.

After sitting down at a comfortable setting, write it down in pen and paper so you can see it everyday. Why write it down? There’s some form to it that the mind pays more attention to a physical thing rather than something that hasn’t been written down- don’t keep it in your mind.

Let’s get more into this: what strategy do you use setting up your goals? Dale Carnegie, Zig Ziglar both demonstrate their planning strategy, which is highly helpful. I took some advice from them and when strategizing my goals, I tend to be specific.

The first thing I look at is the dream, what do I want to be or have accomplished? I write down the end results. After writing down my dreams goals I start with the realistic and reachable goals, I write what I want to accomplish this week, followed by this month, six months, and 12 months.

Usually by 12 months I want to accomplish a big goal, something I could be proud of, therefore; when I write a goal for this week, I’ll have something that will benefit me getting close to what I want to achieve for next week, followed by month, etc. Making those small steps.

However, we shouldn’t just write one goal that we keep all our focus on. Instead make more than one goal for yourself such as goals for your health, and your finances, family, but make sure they’re enough to have yourself focused on, don’t carried away.

Once I’ve written my goals down I visualize and review them to myself. Visualizing the end results of my goals gives positive motivation and keeps me focused. I also tend to share my goals with people who are also in the same experience.

As the time goes by, I often go back and mark out the small goals/steps that I’ve accomplished getting me closer to the bigger goals I set myself. Remember to keep in mind that we may become distracted, not having enough time, or slowly lose interest in our goals. The key here is consistency and discipline.

Are there any other techniques you use to plan your goals? One question I look at is, what do you do when you accomplish your goal before a deadline? I hope these tips will help guide you through making your own goals today and in the near future.

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Planning Your Business

Posted on June 6, 2013 | Leave a comment

Planning your business is essential in order to keep it stable and successful. Either big or small, we can’t go out into the world and introduce our service/product without putting any organization into it. I’ve been asked what are the steps to planning, and I want to help you with a simple list to give you a better idea of how you can structure your business plan.

The reasons why you may need a business plan even if you think you don’t need it and you’re small, is because it’s something you can look back at to stay organized. Some of the questions you could ask when preparing this is, what do you want to do five or ten years from now? What are your dreams and vision with this? The length of this plan varies, it usually should be ten pages long, some may say it’s thirty pages, but that lands when a business is already formed and looking to expand even further.

Here’s a quick list:

  1. Executive Summary
  2. Market Analysis
  3. Management Team Description
  4. How you plan to Market
  5. Analysis of Company Strength
  6. Cash Flow Statement
  7. Revenue Projections
  8. Exit Strategy

From my understanding and the people I’ve talked with, your executive summary should stand out the most. Most startup’s probably only need this and investors will likely only observe this to determine if your business is worth investing or not. Your executive summary is basically an overview of what your business is. The mission statement, vision, what it serves, how it’s different, how it plans to market, it’s all described briefly in that summary.

Next is market analysis. You may spend a lot of time here studying your competition and where you and your product may fit into the market.

Management team description is describing about the team you will have. Their experiences and success’, who the key members will be, wages, and the number of hours they will contribute.

How you will market your product or service will also need to be examined. It narrows down to who your main target audiences are and how you can reach out to them.

When you analyze your company, you have to list down what it’s strengths and weaknesses are, alongside with any threats the business may face and how you may overcome them.

Cash flow statement demonstrates where the cash is going. It’s the accounting process of the business. Some may not be attracted to this, but this really helps you stay organized with looking at where your money in the business is.

Revenue projections is trying to estimate how much you will sell and gain during a period of time. I call it forecasting. Although it may not always predict correctly, it still gives you a good idea of what you want to aim for and what can be expected.

Lastly you want to have an exit strategy. Perhaps not the most prettiest part of the plan people are looking forward to, but planning this will have you prepared just in case something goes wrong. It can be either liquidating your assets, merging with another company or being acquired.

Hope this guide helps you gain a better idea when you’re preparing to create your business plan. I know most that I’ve talked with have skipped this process and would rather just dive in the water, but there is less risk when we prepare ourselves. If you are seeking more help and or are lost about your area, contact a professional CPA or lawyer to give you more details on taxes, regulations, and additional information on what’s needed in the process.

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Pre-Plan: Mission Statement

Posted on March 18, 2013 | Leave a comment

During this pre-planning phase I understand building a great business plan and mission statement is important. How do we set this?  How long should mission statements be? I understand that two keys should be included in the mission statement and that is what are my skills/abilities, and lastly, what do I value.

Recently not so long ago I stepped into a local mechanic shop for a minor maintenance and this shop is very small. As you step in you’re in the front office, and as you see behind the front desk person is a door that leads directly into the work area. So as I setted up everything with the person taking my information I took a look at their small laminated paper that is their vision statement located on the far right corner of the office. It stated “To be the best of the best.”

So what’s wrong with this? I think it’s a little too broad. Best of the best in what and where and even in how? I commented on that and he told me that it was part of their goal. A goal? Maybe it’d be more helpful if we can narrow it down a bit and specifically state how they’re gonna get there. I gave him some helpful insights: Lets start out firstly being the best within these few blocks or this street. Once you become a great recommended shop from the area, it’s now a great time to start putting goals on becoming the best in town. From being the best in town, now we can focus on becoming best in state. Being best in state to best in country. Sounds like a hard way correct? I know it can be accomplished if we stay motivated to it. That’s also what mission statements are; to look back and help us stay motivated and on task. When we are lost and overwhelmed on what we were suppose to be doing in the first place, we should look back at our mission statement because that’s what we do. Nothing more, nothing less. Next I think it should include what skills I bring into my services. What do I have to offer that customers will feel satisfied. Skills that aren’t part of the service shouldn’t be mentioned.

Getting back to what was first mentioned, what do you guys include in your vision statements? How long do you think it should be and should we put a lot of time into it? Are you motivated time to time looking back at it?

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