Look back at 2017, celebrate your successes and take the time to look at what business ideas that didn’t quite work and how you could have done them differently. Don’t think of them as failures, as unlike a lot of your friends, you had the courage to have a go. As the saying goes, “you only fail when you don’t try. The challenge is to learn from both your successes and your failures.

Map what you have learned from both and think about what changes you want to make in order to grow in the year ahead. Be bold, clearly define what success looks like for the new year and set audacious and achievable goals.

Your Values are your biggest Asset

Take time to re-assess your values, why you started on your business journey and what’s important to you on a personal level. Put your values to work daily throughout the year ahead. If it feels like we’re walking away from the founding values this country was successfully built on do what Gandhi advised and, “be the change you want to see in the world.” Decide what you really care about and the role you can play in helping make a positive change in the world.

Don’t sweat the small stuff!

It is easy to waste time on small, insignificant, time-draining stuff that will not help you achieve your goals.

Money is not the motivator, it is the measure of the value you add

Every business is obsessed with making a profit and there is nothing wrong with that, but you need to be more focused and ask yourself “What value am I adding to my customer that they will happily reward me with the price I am asking?”

Making a profit critical if you wish to stay in business for the long haul, and Price is the direct measure of the value you add and by having a clearly defined solution to your clients pain or problem.

Just be you, be true to who you are and what your values are

Don’t be a sheep, you created your business because you identified an opportunity in the market.

For the new 2018 what steps will you take to define your brand’s personality, take some time to revisit your values and who you are, what makes you tick, and why you get out of bed every day. Don’t just follow the crowd, be courageous and most of all, no matter what happens be proud of what you have achieved.

Surround yourself with people that can add value to your life and business

Hang around with the wrong crowd and sooner or later they start to rub off on your behaviour. So the opposite has to be true, surround yourself around intelligent people and both you and your business will benefit. Take a successful business person out to lunch and ask questions about how they achieved their success.

You only have a limited amount of time to spend each day so invest it wisely

Time is like money, it is not unlimited and once you spend it, it is gone. Don’t look back with regret, plan your day and make the most of every hour available to you to invest in things that either make you a better person to be around or add value to the thing you are doing, both in your personal life and business.

Be Entrepreneurial, do something new, take yourself out of your comfort zone and back your ability.

Allocate some ME TIME every week, learn to surf, ride a horse, run a marathon, write a book, learn a musical instrument. Just do something. There’s nothing like the excitement and sense of accomplishment that is earnt from doing something completely new for the first time.

And a bonus tip.

Do stuff you will be proud to tell a crowded room someday.

Have a great 2018!