Transformations
Out with the old, in the new! Have you made your New Year’s resolutions? The New Year offers an opportunity for reflection, for taking stock of what we’ve accomplished. It’s also a time for hitting the re-set button, clarifying our goals.
We’re often so caught up in day-to-day projects and deadlines that we don’t have time to stop and reflect. Transition points offer the opportunity to hit the pause button, to analyze and strategize.
One year ago did you envision you’d be where you are today? Has this been a more successful year than you planned? What new opportunities have come your way that have opened new doors, new possibilities? Have you run into obstacles you didn’t anticipate? How have you dealt with them? Have you changed course during the year in ways you didn’t envision?
The New Year is a great time to adjust our short and long term goals. What would you like to accomplish by this time next year? Five years from now? What’s your long-term vision for the development of your business? What’s been your most successful aspect of your business – bridal, designer jewelry, custom work?
Grow your strengths. Find your own niche and nourish it. What’s your company’s image? How can you promote it? It’s time also for getting rid of “dead wood.” Are you spending a lot of time on repairs that don’t yield a large profit margin? If you offer this service to cultivate clients, perhaps this work can be outsourced, freeing you to develop more profitable lines. Think creatively. Don’t let limitations in your thinking limit your success.
Take a fresh look at your staff, your policies, your store, advertising and marketing, your target clientele. Would different staff better serve your goals? Find your best staff and reward them. Which store policies have been most effective? Codify these into “best practices” and implement them. How about opening a new store… or closing one? Changing location? What advertising has been most effective? Are you clinging from habit to marketing options that offer diminishing returns? Consider new venues – radio, Internet, even on mobile phones. Is your website up to date? Are you active on Facebook? Are you fully appealing to a younger clientele that may not be reached by traditional print advertising? Think outside the box. Now’s the perfect time to plan a fresh, innovative marketing campaign
The beginning of a New Year is also a great time to look at our own story. We’re the storytellers in our own lives. Our lives are the stories we create. By habit we can become trapped in narratives we’ve inherited. Unconsciously we may live out stories we project, repeating patterns that limit new opportunities for growth.
Transition times are a perfect time for transformation, for rewrites. Become aware of patterns you’re creating that limit your success. Live consciously. Do you from habit avoid new lines, new price points, new modes of advertising, new types of clientele? Think outside the box. Only a new seed will yield a new crop. Doors of opportunity are all around us waiting to be opened. We are the change we want to become. We’re only limited by our dreams.
Mia Katrin is an award-winning couture jewelry designer specializing in beautiful necklaces of gems in gold and silver. Featured in over 50 top stores nationally, her Collections have been worn by A-List Hollywood celebrities. Mia exhibits at trade shows and produces and hosts live fashion shows. A trend-setting style spokesperson, she is available for lectures and seminars. www.jeweljewel.com, info@jeweljewel.com, 877-JEWEL-MY (539-3569). She likes to be Liked on Facebook – search Mia Katrin for JEWEL COUTURE LLC.
