FM Walsh & Associates Inc.

I always find December a good time to stop, take a breath and figure out where I want to go in the year ahead. As part of that process, I always read the following 7 step process for achieving goals by Brian Tracy. A good reminder to not get bogged down in the “busy” stuff - get clear on where you are going and make sure you are doing something every day to get you there.

First, decide exactly what you want in each area of your life. Be specific!

Second, write it down, clearly and in detail;

Third, set a specific deadline. If it is a large goal, break it down into sub-deadlines and write them down in order;

Fourth, make a list of everything you can think of that you are going to have to do to achieve your goal. As you think of new items, add them to your list;

Fifth, organize the items on your list into a plan by placing them in the proper sequence and priority;

Sixth, take action immediately on the most important thing you can do on your plan. This is very important!

Seventh, do something every day that moves you toward the attainment of one or more of your important goals. Maintain the momentum!

One of the questions I often get asked is how does someone sell a small business? They have poured blood, sweat and tears into building their business; they have spent hours developing the business model and growing a customer base. Now they have decided to sell but are not sure what the selling price should be or how to go about selling it. I just came across a great article by Ney Grant – Can You Sell Your Small/Home-Based Business? He identifies 3 key questions to ask yourself when deciding on a selling price:

1. Can a qualified person walk into my business, take over, and earn the same amount that I do?
2. What are the qualifications to run the business, and can I reasonably expect to find a buyer with those qualifications?
3. Do you really have something to sell?

Read the full article.

“Aerodynamically, the bumblebee shouldn’t be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn’t know that, so it goes on flying anyway.” — Mary Kay Ash, Entrepreneur

Much of the success in business is about setting some goals and just going after them. Success is not achieved by worrying about how you are going to accomplish or thinking about all the ways you might not succeed or picturing all the potential customers that will say no. Successful people are passionate about what they want to do. Obstacles only fuel that fire. They have the attitude – “Why shouldn’t it be me?” “Why shouldn’t I have that?”

So, copy the bumblebee. Just go out and do what you have been putting off. Think of all the ways you are going to succeed and do the stuff you need to do, one thing at a time, to bring that success to you.

Procrastination – probably the number one trait that undoes more business owners than any other! I see clients get bogged down and putting off endlessly stuff they need to do to make their businesses more successful. This is usually related to sales and business development – the money-making part of the business, which is supposed to be the fun part! I came across a great article recently – Overcoming Procrastination. Manage Your Time. Get it all done.

My favourite part of the article is a list of indicators you can use to catch yourself when you start procrastinating:

• Filling your day with low priority tasks from your To Do List;
• Reading an e-mail or request that you’ve noted in your notebook or on your To Do List more than once, without starting work on it or deciding when you’re going to start work on it;
• Sitting down to start a high-priority task, and almost immediately going off to make a cup of coffee or check your e-mails;
• Leaving an item on your To Do list for a long time, even though you know it’s important;
• Regularly saying “Yes” to unimportant tasks that others ask you to do, and filling your time with these instead of getting on with the important tasks already on your list.

If you find yourself procrastinating on doing important things that will contribute to your success, print off the list above and keep it in a prominent place on your desk so you can get rid of this bad habit. Catch the rest of this great article.