Congratulations! You made it to the year 2013 and now it’s time to reflect and ask yourself, “Did I accomplish everything I set out to accomplish last year?”
If the answer is no, don’t worry! We have over 350 more days to hopefully be more productive than the last 12 months. While most of your friends and family are off enrolling in new fitness programs over the next few days, you’ll be contemplating how to get your new venture off the ground and achieve success in 2013. Here’s some are some resolutions to get the ball rolling:
1) I Will Stop Buying and Start Saving
Starting a company is not cheap! Many entrepreneurs bootstrap their companies with every dollar they can get their hands on! Every dollar you spend on a new gadget or an extra cocktail at the bar is a dollar less that you can spend on your business. What’s more important to you?
2) I Will Have Fewer Meetings
Many people still think that meetings are vital and important to running a successful company. Bullshit! Meetings are a big waste of time. Not only that – meetings are expensive! If you have 5 people present for a 1 hour meeting, that meeting just cost your new company 5 hours of valuable work time. Ask yourself, “is this meeting really vital to the success of my business?” If not, consider canceling the meeting and saving yourself some time and money!
3) I Will Stop Complaining
All too often I hear wannabe entrepreneurs complain about something. “If only I had a cofounder who could write code, then I’d be successful” or “if only we had some more capital, then we could make millions.” Entrepreneurs are problem solvers – not complainers. If you can’t write code either learn to write code, pay a developer, or find another creative solution. As an entrepreneur your job is to find solutions.
4) I Will Wake Up Early
Entrepreneurs are young and young people like sleep! I’ve got news for you – Sleep is for people who work standard 40 hour work weeks. Entrepreneurs are willing to trade sleep for success. If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you’re going to have to get your butt out of bed well before 10am and be prepared to work more than 40 hours each week. Ask yourself, “How badly do you want to succeed? Do you want success more than a couple extra hours of sleep.”
5) I Will Focus On One Business at a Time
Unless you’re a veteran entrepreneur, it’s not a good idea to focus on more than one business at a time. As an entrepreneur, you’re going to have to stop working on all your “side-projects” and focus on the core business. You do not increase your odds of success by working on more than one company at a time.
I’m often asked why I decided to become an entrepreneur. The truth is that I hated the alternative. I saw friends and family slaving away at jobs or in careers they hated. I couldn’t bear the thought of working 9 to 5 for the rest of my life in a field I had no passion for. Personally, my resolution is to never again have to work for “the man.” Maybe that’s the only resolution any of us entrepreneurs really need.
Regardless, Happy New Year. You have 363 days left to either make excuses or make it happen. The choice is yours.
Best of luck in 2013!
This is a guest post by Jordan Fried. Jordan is an internet entrepreneur and blogger who writes about networking, marketing, and inspired living on JordanFried.com. You can also follow him on twitter @JordanFried
Image Credit: Shutterstock.com
