A Winning Formula For Success - Clarity, Focus and Goals

Running your business without having a clear vision or an end goal in mind  is like sailing a ship without a destination.  In order to create a successful business you must know where you are going , create an action plan and strategy , create clear and precise goals and take daily action steps that consistently move you toward your end goal.

While nothing in life is absolutely guaranteed, success is a formula and if you follow certain steps (You may have to tweak some here and there along the way)  you are sure to get it right eventually, so here are three common sense tips that are sure to stack the odds in your favor.

Tip #1 - Create a Clear Big Picture With an End Result in Mind.    

Create a crystal clear  mental picture of where you want to take your business and why. What is your Vision? Where do you plan to take this business? Write it down.

Are you looking to bake out of your home as a simple Cottage Food Operation, Licensed Home Bakery, Storefront or are you looking to be the Sylvia Weinstock of  Cookies?  Start with the big picture in mind. Don’t worry if what you truly want in your heart seems impossible at the moment.

Write it down, put it on paper and give yourself a time line. Don’t worry about whether or not you will be able to achieve it in that time frame or not, just get going.  Do not allow the Nazi in your head to stop you, so this is what I want you to do.

Take a piece of paper , preferably a notebook where you keep all your ideas and plans for your business and write this out.

Example:
My vision : To build a cookie EMPIRE that spans the entire east coast of the United States and 20+ franchises in Europe by December 2023.

Why do you want the big goal?  What is it that drives you? Why do you want this success?

It’s very important that you be just as clear about why you want your goal. What compels you to want this ?

Example:
Why: Because I LOVE baking and decorating cookies. That is my gift and and through my gift , I will build my cookie empire which will  provide a secure future for my family, a college education for my son, I will employ talented people and help them to reach their goals and help their families succeed. Through my success as an entrepreneur I will be able to contribute financially to those causes that are close to my heart and I will be able to assist others, hence leaving the earth, having done my part to fulfill my highest potential, which is to contribute to mankind in a positive way.

Note: Make sure your reason, is not just about you.  Make sure you reach out beyond yourself and  include those things that are important to you such as your family, causes you may support . This should be aligned with your life's purpose.  Financial success, without contribution or anyone to share it with is the ultimate failure. The only way to truly feel fulfilled in life is to give back , during and after you have achieved success for yourself.

TIP # 2 - If You Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail.

Merely wanting something is not enough, you must first map out your goals and then put plans and a strategy in place to attain them. Set up your goals and add intended dates for achievement.   I don’t like to use the word deadline. I am a strong believer in the power of words and I don’t like using anything having to do with dead in my business .

Example:

• ( 10 years out) Long term goal: By 2023 my goal is to have 30 Wacky Cookie Store locations, all over the East coast of the United States, and 20 + franchises all over The European Union.          
• (5 years out) By 2018 my goal is to have 10+ Wacky Cookies Store locations to have a storefront operation each with three part time employees, a full time baking assistant and a full time decorating assistant.  
• (3 years out) List goals here
• (1 year out) List goals here

You get the idea, right?  Always work back from the bigger picture. Use the backwards planning technique.

Click Here for a good article on Backwards Planning 

TIP # 3-  Set Clear Goals for Consistent Improvement. 

Regularly check to make sure those goals are in direct alignment with your big picture.  

Utilize the Cookiepreneur formula for success M^2-  Mechanics x Mindset ( Creates the synergy for success)

Mechanics

Set up a practical step by step plan, take daily action toward your big goal by breaking it down into smaller daily goals. This can be as small as a single phone call per day, but the key is to do something, each and every day that will move you closer to your goal.

Mindset

If you ever want to achieve success you must  utilize positive thinking and visualization techniques and exercises to see your outcome (If you can see it you can be it! It’s not just a saying, it’s true) The world's most successful entrepreneurs, CEO's, athletes and performers use visualization techniques often to achieve their goals, and as Cookiepreneurs we are no different in our ambition to manifest a desired result for ourselves.

You must have the psychological element in place in order to reach your goals, I cannot emphasize that strongly enough.

A great book to help you with visualization exercises and to cultivate a Wealth Mindset in general with practical exercises is The Wealth Diet by Kathy Zant . 

The Wealth Diet

I love this book , because it is written from the heart by a real person.  I know Kathy, I am proud to call her my friend and she is an amazing entrepreneur, mother and someone just like you and me and is genuine in her message to help others succeed in life.

You may see yourself in this book, as I did.  Remember that I told you , when we first started this journey that I am a very strong believer in the inner game to success.  I believe that your outer world is merely a reflection of your inner landscape, so for many of you what that means is that you need to start working on success from the inside out.

Before you become a successful Cookiepreneur, first you must see yourself in that role. 

You must see yourself at the finish line before you get there and this book is a wonderful and indispensable tool, full of nuggets of wisdom and a-ha moment provoking passages that will help get you there.

I promised you that we would have lots of goodies and freebies here so make sure you click on the book below in order to secure your  your chance to win an autographed copy of The Wealth Diet.

Click HERE for your chance to win an autographed copy of The Wealth Diet,  The Proven, 4-Week Program that Realigns Your Mindset to Greater Wealth, Abundance and Happiness Giveaway  

I told  Kathy about this project and my journey to help you uncover and cultivate those wonderful gifts you have and she generously offered a copy of her book to one lucky winner, that could be you!

We will also touch on these subjects during our free teleconferences.  Sign up here  if you have not already and we will be sure to let you know as soon as we start offering these in July.

If you want to take it a step further, and are really serious about getting this down to a science , I will be offering  this as part of the curriculum in our  M² Elite Series Webinars starting in late summer / early fall . We are going to open pre-registration in a few weeks. These will be small group online classes I will teach you the step by step fool proof way to Create a compelling vision for your business based upon your life's purpose and how  to construct a comprehensive plan to get there.

For those of you who really wish to Go big or go home as I often do,  I have also decided to open up a few spaces for one on one Personal Business Coaching. This is the ultimate coaching program.  This is a series of  meetings ( Online  if you are in another state) where  you and me will work together directly in order to help you reach all of your business goals.  I bring every bit of knowledge, experience and resources that I have to the table in order to assist you in setting  up your vision , breaking it down  into manageable bite sized chunks, and helping you see it come into fruition..

I am so excited  to offer this to only a select number of people who are really serious about this process. Due to the number of requests this will be an invitation only type program and we will begin taking applications for this program the first week of August.

So in summing up this week, you already know that in order to create a successful business you need to have  

• Absolute clarity about what you want, and know why.
• Create a plan to get there.
• Set clear goals that are aligned with your big picture. 
• Take daily steps toward your goal, it doesn't matter how small, the key is consistency!

As always, I leave you with what I believe to be the absolute truth

Persistence is the key to success, never give up, Never!

Wishing you a wonderful and prosperous week.

Aymee