No-Stress Resolutions for Entrepreneurs to Make in 2021
For many business owners, the year 2020 was one of sweeping changes. The pandemic caused by COVID-19 forced many businesses to shutter their doors and pivot to a new operations model, or risk closing for good. Working from home became the norm for many, while some brick-and-mortar stores rushed to put their inventory online and offer alternative delivery methods. In many cases, revenue dropped sharply, and business owners had to get creative to mitigate losses. However your company was affected by 2020, consider making these resolutions for entrepreneurs in 2021:
- Focus on adaptability
- Reexamine your office space
- Shorten your to-do list
- Pick one big goal and nail it
- Support other entrepreneurs
- Cut yourself some slack
Focus on Adaptability
If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that being too set in our ways can find us in trouble when the rest of the world changes but we don’t. Many businesses (and entire industries) have flopped as a result of being inflexible in their operations. This was true before the pandemic, but became even more apparent in the last year. One of the best resolutions for entrepreneurs in 2021 is to focus on making your business as adaptable as possible, whether it’s an existing company or one you’re launching this year. Sell your products through as many channels as you can, so if one becomes non-viable, you have others to fall back on. Offer different working solutions for employees who aren’t one-size-fits-all in terms of hours and days worked. Practice using a variety of marketing efforts. And, make plans for every worst-case scenario you can think of; hopefully none of them come to fruition but, if they do, you’ll be ready to adapt at a moment’s notice.
Reexamine Your Office Space
When businesses around the world were forced to close their doors, many shifted to working from home. Thanks to the power of technology, co-workers stayed in touch and kept up their productivity with tools like Zoom and G-Suite. Although the grand “work-from-home experiment,” as it has been dubbed, showed companies a whole new way to operate, many companies held on to expensive office spaces and rental units that weren’t being used. These spaces drained precious revenue but were kept up in the name of an outdated tradition from the pre-internet era. One of the best resolutions for entrepreneurs in 2021 is to reexamine all of that office space. If your company rents an office for your employees, ask yourself if it’s really necessary. Can you transition to a work-from-home business? Can you reduce the space you pay for by having a rotating in-office/at-home schedule, so only some of your employees work in your office at once? Rent is one of the biggest revenue eaters businesses face, and also one of the biggest hurdles for growing businesses to overcome. By reducing your rental fees or removing them altogether, you can give your company a boost.
Resolutions for Entrepreneurs: Shorten Your To-Do Lists
Often, business owners resolve to do more at the beginning of each year. More marketing, more sales, more products. In addition, they pledge to do more but leave their plans for achieving it vague. As a result, less ends up getting done. Instead of shooting for the stars, start the new year by resolving to take on a small to-do list with a detailed plan of how to accomplish each task. If you finish your list, then you can add more and feel even more accomplished.
Pick One Big Goal and Nail It
Similarly to stacking their to-do lists with too many tasks, many entrepreneurs resolve to accomplish a slew of enormous, time-intensive goals. In most cases, this ends with tasks remaining unfinished, or being completed poorly. Rather than divide your efforts between goals, commit to one big goal for the year and nail it. Your goal may be something like launching a new website, adding a new line of products, improving your search engine rankings, and more.
Support Other Entrepreneurs
Business owners have first-hand knowledge of how hard it is to see success in busy industries filled with competitors. As such, they tout the benefits of supporting small local businesses whenever possible. However, many business owners don’t show the same support they ask for. Many see other small businesses as competitors who divide the loyalty of customers. In 2021, rather than seeing other small businesses as competition, resolve to support other entrepreneurs and their ventures; by creating a strong community and hyping up one another’s business, you can help other entrepreneurs succeed, while they help you in return.
Cut Yourself Some Slack
The year 2020 was considered by many to be their worst year ever. Things had a tendency to go sideways despite people’s best efforts to the contrary. Many tasks were left unfinished, goals remained unaccomplished, and business owners were harsh on themselves about it, despite unprecedented outside factors impacting their companies. In 2021, it’s important to cut yourself some slack. Many of us are going into the new year exhausted and stressed from 2020. Take the time to heal and plan, and work slowly towards achievable goals, to build yourself back up in the new year.
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