10 Simple New Year’s Habits For Soul-Inspired Business Owners

So the tree is taken down, the Yule log burned out, the eggnog all gone and the lights put away.  The new year is here!  It’s a time of reflection, looking forward, and making positive changes. Perhaps you’ve made a few New Year’s Resolutions for your life and business.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never had much luck with New Year’s Resolutions. I think it’s because the overall vibe of resolutions feels negative to me, not positive.  Resolutions have always felt like an admission that there’s something wrong, and now I’m going to have to work to change it.  While there’s always room for improvement, I’d much rather make those changes in a way that feels positive and do-able, not like I’m climbing a mountain, or even worse, because it feels like I “should.” (Can you relate?)

That’s when I hit upon the idea of creating New Year’s habits. Unlike the makeover-style overhauls, habits are small, simple shifts that are supportive, not punishing.  They’re manageable, so you’re much more likely to succeed (especially if you take them one at a time).  Best of all, they can add up to BIG results over the long haul.

Wildly successful people have long known and understood that the key to success is habit and consistency. Think And Grow Rich, one of the most widely read personal development books of all time, came about when Andrew Carnegie challenged Napoleon Hill to study the characteristics of successful people, including their habits.  Million-dollar marketing coach Dan Kennedy has said, “If you look at successful people, look at the things they do without fail every single day. That’s what makes them successful.”

Below are 10 tried-and-true business-boosting success habits for the new year. Use this list as a checklist to see where your marketing could use a tune-up.  If you’re not doing any of them yet, don’t stress out – just pick one or two and get them going.

As you read the 10 ideas below, notice how simple most of them are.  Turn even 2 or 3 of them into new habits and you’ll be amazed at how quickly you make positive shifts in your life and business.

1. Reconnect with your passion. If you’re a soul-inspired business owner, chances are you’re driven to do what you do – that is, you have a reason why.  Maybe you’ve lived what you teach and now you want to help others. Maybe want to spend more time with your family.  Write down your why and read it often. Your passion is the fuel that makes your business go.  Passion is also absolutely magnetic to potential clients.

2. Reconnect with your vision. Where would you like to be 1, 3 or 5 years from now?  If you’ve never created a vision for yourself, now is a wonderful time to make one.  Be sure to write in the present tense.  “I am so happy and grateful that…”  Keep your vision close to you and read it on a regular basis (once a day is ideal).  Reading your vision should light a fire in your belly.  If you’re not excited after reading your vision, it’s time to change it.

3. Track everything. We all know that what you focus on expands, right?  Simple, elegant, and it works.  Ideas:

• Your income (track your income and you’ll get more)
• Clients (track clients and you’ll get more)
• Signs from the Universe that you’re moving forward (track your progress and you’ll get more)
• Things you’re grateful for (give thanks for what you have and you’ll get more)

One thing you’ll definitely want to track is where your clients come from. That way, you can keep your focus on what’s working and release what is not.  Your time and money are precious, so keep your marketing accountable!

4. Go for the relationship, not the sale. The key to success in a recession economy is better relationships.  It can be hard to focus on creating a relationship when you need clients and income now.  But the more you do, the faster both will come (and the better you’ll feel, too).  Better still, by building relationships, you’ll create a business that sustains you long after the crisis point is over.

5. Follow up with potential clients. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve met someone whose service I really needed, told them I needed them, and never heard from them again.  Lack of follow-up is a money leak, plain and simple.  Potential clients want you to follow up because it’s one less thing they need to remember.  Make service your top priority and follow up consistently, especially when that little voice inside is saying one thing (“They’re not really interested,” “they must have hired someone else”) and your rational mind knows it’s follow-up time.  (I’ve made this mistake myself and always kick myself later!)

6. Reconnect with current and past clients. It’s well known that it’s much easier to get repeat business than new business.  Your best clients are one of your most precious assets: emotionally, spiritually, and of course, financially.  They deserve a little love!  Make a new habit of checking in from time to time.  They’ll appreciate it, and you’ll both get the benefit of working with each other more often.  (Proof: one of my recent check-ins with a favorite client turned into another project, authentically and gracefully.)

7. Be ruthlessly positive. Being positive isn’t just about making you feel good – it’s good business.  Good news is like acknowledgment and approval: people long for it.   I don’t know about you, but personally, I’m sick of hearing that the sky is falling!  So are your clients.  Turn the experience of working with you into a blissful, healthy alternative by shifting your attitude.

8. Reject excuses, embrace solutions. Excuses keep you stuck.  Solutions move you forward.  Time to replace the old habit of slipping into excuses mode (“That won’t work”, “Nobody will pay for it”) for a habit that supports you.  When you catch your mind feeding you excuses, give it something else to do: find a solution to the problem.  Ask, “How can I make this work?” or “What would make it worth it to them?”  (Want the answer to the latter question?  Ask your best clients!  They’ll tell you!)

Your left brain is thrilled when you give it problems to solve.  Better yet, when you give your brain a problem to solve and a little bit of time, it will help you!  Instead of roadblocks, you get a clear path to whatever you want.

9. Commit to “just one thing” daily. To keep marketing simple, stick to basic, tried-and-true strategies and adopt a truly magical practice that I like to call “just one thing”: every day, do just one thing to build your business, no matter how small.  “Just one thing” uses the Japanese principle of kaizen: big results come in continuous small increments over time.  Commit to just one thing daily and you’ll never have to worry about where your clients are coming from ever again.

10. Gratitude. You know it feels good.  You know it works!  Now all that’s left is to make it a habit.  If you haven’t been giving thanks DAILY for all the money, business, and success you DO have, now is the perfect time to start.

Want more tips on spiritual, profitable planning for 2010?  Check out this article by my colleague and fellow Platinum coach Alicia Forest, and this one by my Platinum client Joanna Powell Colbert.  (And don’t forget to sign up for my fr’e'e 2010 Marketing & Manifestation call series!  Register here: http://www.6figuresoulbasedbusiness.com)

© 2009 Elizabeth Genco Purvis.  All Rights Reserved.

Elizabeth Genco Purvis, “The Marketing Goddess” teaches spirited solo business owners and conscious entrepreneurs how to attract an abundance of clients, income, freedom and satisfaction in their business while staying true to their values.  Visit MarketingGoddess.com to claim your copy of “Grow Your Business With Spirit And Soul,” a 7-part audio workshop with everything you need to begin attracting more clients right away.