It is the end of the first quarter and time to check the score.
Just as planning your goals for the coming year should always begin with a look back at the year in review, so planning your business for the rest of this year should take a look back at the first quarter. Business planning isn’t just a numbers game, but also an accounting and analysis of the year’s overall progress.
Begin by asking the hard questions:
• What happened in your business this past year? Past quarter?
• Did you meet your goals? If not, why not?
• How did you accomplish your successful goals?
• Where did your business come from?
From there, analyze the specific sources of success or failure.
• Were your lead systems facilitating your goals?
• Did the number of listings support the number of closed transactions?
And yes, now analyze the numbers: closed sales, closed commissions, expenses, how many listings taken, how many listings sold, how many active? Quantify where the business came from in comparison to your goals: how many sales from sphere? Referrals? Websites? Print media? Signs? Other lead-generating systems?
Also take a look at the team. Who do you have working with you and what are their roles? Did they support last year’s business? Did they reach their goals? Were their goals congruous with your business plan? And let’s not forget that important last count: the one where you evaluate yourself, including how many hours you worked per week and how much vacation time you took during the course of the year or quarter.
Think of this business in review task as a report to imaginary shareholders in the business. They would need a reminder of last year’s goals, a comparison to the actual numbers, an analysis of the year’s operations and relative success, and an evaluation, ultimately, of your business strategy. The success of the past year forms the basis of your business plan for the next. You are able to determine if you need to completely overhaul your “to-do” list or merely fine-tune it. You are able to focus on the past year’s strengths in order to maximize their results for the future. You are also able to isolate weaknesses or “misses” and problem-solve them to a positive resolution.
The business “flashback” in review cannot be ignored if you hope to continue to grow your business into tomorrow. The necessary steps to planning for that future can only happen once you’ve seen what came before. That is when you learn not just from your mistakes, but from your successes. It’s then you can set the new goal and create the plan. It’s then you can focus your time and resources. It’s then you can make accountability a part of the process. It’s then you can move forward with the confidence that you have planned for an incredible year ahead.
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Article sourced from:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_9936.shtml
Showing posts with label Goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Goals. Show all posts
Tuesday, 7 April 2009
Tuesday, 17 March 2009
How to Choose the Right Home Business Opportunity
As the internet continues to grow and expand into almost every industry, it can be difficult to determine which home business opportunities will produce a lucrative income, and which ones are simply a waste of time. Choosing the right home business opportunity is a simple process, and you can start by choosing a niche topic or industry that you have an interest in. After a few brainstorming sessions, you'll be able to consider a variety of options in sales, marketing, affiliate products, or even creating a resource website. Here's what you need to choose the right home business opportunity:
1. Decide if you want to sell a product or a service. Products take the form of retail or consumer goods that are sold through an online storefront. Sometimes this is connected to an affiliate program, but not always; many home business owners choose to stock inventory and sell their items through eBay listings or other classifieds in order to make the sale. If you are choosing a service as a business, you may need to learn more about how the industry is doing online, and seek out additional education or training to sharpen your skills. Deciding if you want to sell a product or service is a fundamental step in your business planning, but will help you close the doors to some home business opportunities while opening up the doors to the one that suits you best.
2. Decide if you want to be an affiliate. Affiliate programs are a great way to generate a residual income since you're rarely involved with developing a product and selling it yourself. As an affiliate, you join a network of other sales people to promote a particular product and will earn a commission on each sale. Affiliate products in the digital world have become increasingly popular over the past few years as more people turn are interested in buying eBooks, podcasts, and informational services. You can set up a storefront just like an online retailer, but will link all products sold with your affiliate codes instead. Affiliate sales can be a very profitable home business opportunity and entrepreneurial venture, but you do need to remain consistent and maintain a steady marketing plan and program.
3. Consider selling information yourself. Many people turn to the web to sell knowledge and tutorials about a particular subject. Seek out your passion and turn it into a profitable home business opportunity by creating your own website. A website that can draw a large amount of traffic has a lot of potential to make money from advertising, and you may also be able to sell affiliate products through it after building a steady flow of visitors. This is a valuable home business opportunity for you if you can update your site regularly and really focus on your niche topic. Becoming an expert on a niche subject or industry is a great way to build a steady stream of visitors to your site which can lead to subscription lists, newsletters, and many opportunities to sell a product or service.
4. Set your income goals. Sometimes deciding how much you want to make over the course of a year can help you narrow down your search. For example, if you only want to make a part-time income while working a 'day job,' you would choose online business opportunities that do not require a daily commitment. This includes any retail stores or sales-oriented sites that require you to fill orders and track inventory. If you do want to focus all your energy on making a full-time income, then a complete affiliate sales and marketing program, or information product selling and services may be a good choice.
Finding the right home business opportunity can take time, and sometimes it's even a matter of trial and error. Still, you can narrow down your search with a few simple questions and focus on these key areas for the right fit.
----------------------------------------
Article sourced from:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_5569.shtml
1. Decide if you want to sell a product or a service. Products take the form of retail or consumer goods that are sold through an online storefront. Sometimes this is connected to an affiliate program, but not always; many home business owners choose to stock inventory and sell their items through eBay listings or other classifieds in order to make the sale. If you are choosing a service as a business, you may need to learn more about how the industry is doing online, and seek out additional education or training to sharpen your skills. Deciding if you want to sell a product or service is a fundamental step in your business planning, but will help you close the doors to some home business opportunities while opening up the doors to the one that suits you best.
2. Decide if you want to be an affiliate. Affiliate programs are a great way to generate a residual income since you're rarely involved with developing a product and selling it yourself. As an affiliate, you join a network of other sales people to promote a particular product and will earn a commission on each sale. Affiliate products in the digital world have become increasingly popular over the past few years as more people turn are interested in buying eBooks, podcasts, and informational services. You can set up a storefront just like an online retailer, but will link all products sold with your affiliate codes instead. Affiliate sales can be a very profitable home business opportunity and entrepreneurial venture, but you do need to remain consistent and maintain a steady marketing plan and program.
3. Consider selling information yourself. Many people turn to the web to sell knowledge and tutorials about a particular subject. Seek out your passion and turn it into a profitable home business opportunity by creating your own website. A website that can draw a large amount of traffic has a lot of potential to make money from advertising, and you may also be able to sell affiliate products through it after building a steady flow of visitors. This is a valuable home business opportunity for you if you can update your site regularly and really focus on your niche topic. Becoming an expert on a niche subject or industry is a great way to build a steady stream of visitors to your site which can lead to subscription lists, newsletters, and many opportunities to sell a product or service.
4. Set your income goals. Sometimes deciding how much you want to make over the course of a year can help you narrow down your search. For example, if you only want to make a part-time income while working a 'day job,' you would choose online business opportunities that do not require a daily commitment. This includes any retail stores or sales-oriented sites that require you to fill orders and track inventory. If you do want to focus all your energy on making a full-time income, then a complete affiliate sales and marketing program, or information product selling and services may be a good choice.
Finding the right home business opportunity can take time, and sometimes it's even a matter of trial and error. Still, you can narrow down your search with a few simple questions and focus on these key areas for the right fit.
----------------------------------------
Article sourced from:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_5569.shtml
Friday, 22 June 2007
The Disney Difference: How One Man Rose Above Bankruptcy And Failure To Building A Multi-billion $$
Try to imagine a world without Walt Disney. A world without his magic, optimism and childlike fantasy. Walt Disney pioneered the fields of animation, and transformed the entertainment world. He did more to touch the hearts, minds, and emotions of millions of Americans than any other person in the past century.
The Walt Disney Company - now a mega-empire whose profits (yes, profits!) are $1.3 billion - was the creation of a high school drop out who suffered bankruptcy, risked it all 4 times and suffered repeated financial and business disasters. How did one man overcome the greatest of challenges to become a legend ... a folk hero ... a master of enterprise?
Walt Disney’s creative and business magic can be summarized in one word: Imagineering. The term, trademarked by Disney in 1967, combines the words "imagination" and "engineering."
Today, Walt Disney’s Imagineering is the master planning, creative development, design, engineering, production, project management and research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company. A powerful insight into the Imagineering process is provided by one of Walt Disney’s co-workers who pointed out “… there were actually three different Walts: the dreamer, the realist and the spoiler (or critic). You never knew which one was coming to a meeting.”
Through the modeling technologies of NeuroLinguistic Programming (NLP), you too can cultivate the same business genius of Walt Disney. You too can learn Disney’s Imagineering process to make your boldest visions into reality.
Applying the Disney Difference in Your Business:
The Benefits of the Imagineering Process
Whether you are a soloist business owner or the CEO of a multi-billion dollar corporation, Imagineering is a simple yet powerful process that can help you:
•Be successful at the “inner game” of reaching future goals
•Build powerful teams, strategic partnerships and alliances
•Maximize the return and minimize the risk in new “virgin” situations – such as launching a new product, expanding to new markets or acquiring a business
•Lead and manage change throughout your organization
•Develop clear compelling plans that inspire you/your team to action
•Communicate and work more effectively with diverse groups of people
•Ignite your creativity and problem solving capabilities
The Imagineering Process: An Overview
Whether you are an individual or a team, Imagineering involves the coordination of three “hats” or roles. According to Robert Dilts, NLP pioneer who modeled the Imagineering process, all three roles are critical to effective problem solving and transforming visions into reality.
The Dreamer
The dreamer’s role is to provide the visionary big picture … with no boundaries, limitations or restraints.
The Realist
The realist’s role is to evaluate what is realistic, think constructively and organize action plans.
The Critic
The critic’s role is to test the plan, look for potential problems, difficulties and consequences. That is, what could go wrong, what is missing.
Very few individuals, teams or organizations are strong in all three roles or capabilities. What happens when one or two of these roles are missing? Do any of these sound like you or your organization?
•A Dreamer without a Realist gets stuck in fantasy, a “some day” mentality.
•A Realist without a Dreamer or Critic is like a robot. They are task masters. They are driven by “to do” lists.
•A Critic and a Dreamer without a Realist get caught up in perpetual conflict.
•A Dreamer and Realist without a Critic are an R&D department – lots of prototypes but lack quality standards for success.
•A Critic without a Dreamer or Realist is a Spoiler. They stop themselves even before they get started.
•A Realist and Critic without a Dreamer are a Bureaucracy.
To make your dreams come true … with ease, precision and passion, it is critical to master and synthesize all three Imagineering roles. Below is a peek how I work with individuals, teams and organizations in modeling Disney’s Imagineering to create extraordinary business results.
Imagineering Your Business Success:
The Process for Transforming Your Dreams into Reality
Your ability to transform your business goals into reality requires mastery of the following phases of the Imagineering process.
The Dreamer: Envisioning Your Future
Walt Disney’s genius always started with a dream. He would see clearly in his own mind the vision of what he wanted – whether it was a theme park, a cartoon character, a movie or any of his other creative endeavors.
As the Dreamer, you want to think about your long term future, address the big picture and generate many alternatives for reaching your goal. The primary focus is on the “what” of your idea or vision.
To model the Dreamer in Walt Disney, you must ask yourself such questions as:
•What do I want in an ideal world?
•What is the purpose of this project or goal?
•What are the benefits?
•What will be the impact once my goal is achieved?
•What alternative strategies will help me get there?
Key Points: Always state the goal in positive terms and establish the purpose and payoffs of reaching your goal. Think big … very big.
The Realist: Defining the Plan
The purpose of the Realist is to turn the dream into a workable plan. While wearing the Realist hat, you want to “act as if” the dream is possible and identify steps, time frames and milestones for getting there.
Your focus needs to be more action-oriented, on the “how” -- ie., procedures and operations -- for implementing your plan or idea.
To model the Realist in Walt Disney, you must ask yourself such questions as:
•How specifically will the idea be implemented? What will be the first step? second step? third step? By when?
•How will I know when the goal has been achieved?
•How will I get the resources (people, money, skills, etc.) I need to reach my goal?
Key Points: Create a “storyboard” of your plan by finding simple images to represent the steps required for reaching your goal or dream. Disney developed the very powerful process of “storyboarding” in 1928 and is now used by many successful businesses, such as GE.
The Critic:: Identifying Potential Problems
The purpose of the Critic is to evaluate the proposed plan and look for potential problems and ‘missing links.” The Critic role must follow the Dreamer and the Realist in this process.
The Critic identifies external factors or individuals that may influence the outcome of the plan (either positively or negatively). The primary purpose of the Critic is to focus on “what if” concerns, along with solutions to avoid them.
To model the Critic in Walt Disney, you must ask yourself such questions as:
•What if I can’t find the necessary resources or funds to implement my plan?
•What if my competitors _____ ?
•What if I don’t meet the plan’s milestones? How will that effect costs? Time and resource requirements?
•What if certain people object to my plan or can negatively impact its success? How will I handle that?
Key Points: While most people and organizations look at critics as negative people, their role is essential to your future success. You want them on your team. For the Critic role to be most effective, allow the critic to present their concerns only in the last step, after the dream and plans have been formulated.
Summary:
One man – Walt Disney – not only built one of the most successful US businesses of all time, this one man also left a magical legacy spanning almost a century and will continue for many generations to come.
How has one man accomplished so much? The answer is his Imagineering process – his secret for transforming ambitious, creative visions into extraordinary realities. By following Walt Disney’s cycle of Dreamer, Realist and Critic, you too will realize a compelling business future and a clear path that will take you there.
--------------------
Article sourced from: http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_7981.shtml
The Walt Disney Company - now a mega-empire whose profits (yes, profits!) are $1.3 billion - was the creation of a high school drop out who suffered bankruptcy, risked it all 4 times and suffered repeated financial and business disasters. How did one man overcome the greatest of challenges to become a legend ... a folk hero ... a master of enterprise?
Walt Disney’s creative and business magic can be summarized in one word: Imagineering. The term, trademarked by Disney in 1967, combines the words "imagination" and "engineering."
Today, Walt Disney’s Imagineering is the master planning, creative development, design, engineering, production, project management and research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company. A powerful insight into the Imagineering process is provided by one of Walt Disney’s co-workers who pointed out “… there were actually three different Walts: the dreamer, the realist and the spoiler (or critic). You never knew which one was coming to a meeting.”
Through the modeling technologies of NeuroLinguistic Programming (NLP), you too can cultivate the same business genius of Walt Disney. You too can learn Disney’s Imagineering process to make your boldest visions into reality.
Applying the Disney Difference in Your Business:
The Benefits of the Imagineering Process
Whether you are a soloist business owner or the CEO of a multi-billion dollar corporation, Imagineering is a simple yet powerful process that can help you:
•Be successful at the “inner game” of reaching future goals
•Build powerful teams, strategic partnerships and alliances
•Maximize the return and minimize the risk in new “virgin” situations – such as launching a new product, expanding to new markets or acquiring a business
•Lead and manage change throughout your organization
•Develop clear compelling plans that inspire you/your team to action
•Communicate and work more effectively with diverse groups of people
•Ignite your creativity and problem solving capabilities
The Imagineering Process: An Overview
Whether you are an individual or a team, Imagineering involves the coordination of three “hats” or roles. According to Robert Dilts, NLP pioneer who modeled the Imagineering process, all three roles are critical to effective problem solving and transforming visions into reality.
The Dreamer
The dreamer’s role is to provide the visionary big picture … with no boundaries, limitations or restraints.
The Realist
The realist’s role is to evaluate what is realistic, think constructively and organize action plans.
The Critic
The critic’s role is to test the plan, look for potential problems, difficulties and consequences. That is, what could go wrong, what is missing.
Very few individuals, teams or organizations are strong in all three roles or capabilities. What happens when one or two of these roles are missing? Do any of these sound like you or your organization?
•A Dreamer without a Realist gets stuck in fantasy, a “some day” mentality.
•A Realist without a Dreamer or Critic is like a robot. They are task masters. They are driven by “to do” lists.
•A Critic and a Dreamer without a Realist get caught up in perpetual conflict.
•A Dreamer and Realist without a Critic are an R&D department – lots of prototypes but lack quality standards for success.
•A Critic without a Dreamer or Realist is a Spoiler. They stop themselves even before they get started.
•A Realist and Critic without a Dreamer are a Bureaucracy.
To make your dreams come true … with ease, precision and passion, it is critical to master and synthesize all three Imagineering roles. Below is a peek how I work with individuals, teams and organizations in modeling Disney’s Imagineering to create extraordinary business results.
Imagineering Your Business Success:
The Process for Transforming Your Dreams into Reality
Your ability to transform your business goals into reality requires mastery of the following phases of the Imagineering process.
The Dreamer: Envisioning Your Future
Walt Disney’s genius always started with a dream. He would see clearly in his own mind the vision of what he wanted – whether it was a theme park, a cartoon character, a movie or any of his other creative endeavors.
As the Dreamer, you want to think about your long term future, address the big picture and generate many alternatives for reaching your goal. The primary focus is on the “what” of your idea or vision.
To model the Dreamer in Walt Disney, you must ask yourself such questions as:
•What do I want in an ideal world?
•What is the purpose of this project or goal?
•What are the benefits?
•What will be the impact once my goal is achieved?
•What alternative strategies will help me get there?
Key Points: Always state the goal in positive terms and establish the purpose and payoffs of reaching your goal. Think big … very big.
The Realist: Defining the Plan
The purpose of the Realist is to turn the dream into a workable plan. While wearing the Realist hat, you want to “act as if” the dream is possible and identify steps, time frames and milestones for getting there.
Your focus needs to be more action-oriented, on the “how” -- ie., procedures and operations -- for implementing your plan or idea.
To model the Realist in Walt Disney, you must ask yourself such questions as:
•How specifically will the idea be implemented? What will be the first step? second step? third step? By when?
•How will I know when the goal has been achieved?
•How will I get the resources (people, money, skills, etc.) I need to reach my goal?
Key Points: Create a “storyboard” of your plan by finding simple images to represent the steps required for reaching your goal or dream. Disney developed the very powerful process of “storyboarding” in 1928 and is now used by many successful businesses, such as GE.
The Critic:: Identifying Potential Problems
The purpose of the Critic is to evaluate the proposed plan and look for potential problems and ‘missing links.” The Critic role must follow the Dreamer and the Realist in this process.
The Critic identifies external factors or individuals that may influence the outcome of the plan (either positively or negatively). The primary purpose of the Critic is to focus on “what if” concerns, along with solutions to avoid them.
To model the Critic in Walt Disney, you must ask yourself such questions as:
•What if I can’t find the necessary resources or funds to implement my plan?
•What if my competitors _____ ?
•What if I don’t meet the plan’s milestones? How will that effect costs? Time and resource requirements?
•What if certain people object to my plan or can negatively impact its success? How will I handle that?
Key Points: While most people and organizations look at critics as negative people, their role is essential to your future success. You want them on your team. For the Critic role to be most effective, allow the critic to present their concerns only in the last step, after the dream and plans have been formulated.
Summary:
One man – Walt Disney – not only built one of the most successful US businesses of all time, this one man also left a magical legacy spanning almost a century and will continue for many generations to come.
How has one man accomplished so much? The answer is his Imagineering process – his secret for transforming ambitious, creative visions into extraordinary realities. By following Walt Disney’s cycle of Dreamer, Realist and Critic, you too will realize a compelling business future and a clear path that will take you there.
--------------------
Article sourced from: http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_7981.shtml
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