New Year's resolutions about losing weight or organizing the
garage may not last more than a few weeks, but it's possible to
start the year with plans for your business that will persist for a
full 12 months--or even longer.
But like the often-repeated resolution of an out-of-shape person
that this year will be different, resolutions for a business go
nowhere if they entail recreating reality. Resolutions that push
for incremental progress or for simple clarity of thought are the
ones that stick, say successful entrepreneurs and business
advisors.
"Making resolutions means taking a risk, but the thing we
all need to do to stay in business these days is constantly put our
companies at risk," says Tom Mears, CEO of Holland Inc.,
parent company of the Pacific Northwest's Burgerville USA
chain. "The only way to grow in 1999 is to keep yourself from
becoming complacent and find things you can change about the way
you operate."
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Five years ago, Mears, who is at the helm of the Vancouver,
Washington, family-run company, detected that the old-line burger
house was quickly losing ground to the big chains and resolved to
turn it around. "Without taking some risks and deciding to
make changes, we'd have kept sliding," says Mears, 57. Now
the company is on firm footing with sales of $47 million this
year.
Of course, there's nothing magical about laying plans in
January: Sharp-minded entrepreneurs are always charting the route
ahead, no matter what time of year it is. But January, when frosty
weather and the post-holiday slowdown leave many businesses quiet,
is a fine time to take stock and think deeply about your overall
strategy and approach to your business.
So forget about that messy garage or the extra inches in your
waistline--for now, at least--and instead consider making some of
these 15 resolutions that have worked for your fellow
entrepreneurs:
1. Give Your Goals a Reality Check
When Portland, Oregon, chef Paul Wenner, 51, set out in 1985 to
infiltrate the world of burgers with his meatless Gardenburger,
his goal was broad: Change the world's eating habits. By the
beginning of 1986, he had deals with 70 restaurants to carry his
creation, which has a base of mushrooms and brown rice instead of
soybeans, the more common alternative burger base.
As 1986 dawned, Wenner recalls, "I decided I really wanted
to kick all year and get to 200 restaurants--which meant more than
doubling our business. And I did it." In fact, he overshot the
mark, ending the year with 220 restaurants on his client list. For
1987, he resolved to aim for 400 restaurants--and he beat his goal
by 50 restaurants. Today, Gardenburgers are on the menus of more
than 40,000 U.S. restaurants.
"One of the keys to success is having an objective you want
to reach, but to get there, you need to set a series of [smaller]
goals along the way," says Joe Giglierano, a marketing
professor at California's San Jose State University. "Each
[smaller] goal should stretch you a little more but be reasonable,
and as you figure out ways to reach each of them, you move yourself
toward your long-term goal."
This strategy works for Wenner in a carrot-and-stick kind of
way. "I always have a number out there as my goal, and all
year I'm checking my progress to see if I'm on track to hit
the goal," Wenner says. "One year, it was 'I'll
get into 25 percent of the health-food stores [in the United
States],' and I did it. So the next year, the number was 60
percent, and I did that, too. Every year, I've been within 5
percent of what I said I'd do."
It's a simple, timeless technique--but one many
entrepreneurs don't find time for. Make the time, and soon you
may wind up in the same class as Gardenburger, which is now a $500
million company.
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