Are you ready to make a significant change in your business? To achieve an unbelievable level of success that seems to only come to a few entrepreneurs. Statistics tell us that 90% of the business that are started fail within the first year of operations and of those that make it to year two, less than half will achieve success.

But you don’t have to be a statistic.

Success is often a result of following very simple steps to take back control and to move your business forward. It is about looking at what opportunities exist right in front of you vs. looking too far ahead. It is about making good decisions and taking consistent action to move you closer to your goals.

Here are 5 of the 10 powerful steps that I share with all of my clients.

Step One – Take an honest assessment of your situation

The first step in every success plan is to first know where you are – take a good and honest assessment of where you are in your business and more importantly where you want to get to. The key here is to be honest. Do not justify bad situations and do not sugarcoat items that need your focus. Take the time to look at your products and service model, your finances and your sales and marketing strategies and answer these questions:

•What currently is working and working well in your business?
•What isn’t working and what can you do to make changes?
•What are three new things you can try in your business that will make a difference?

Step Two – Get in the habit of planning

Entrepreneurs who fail to plan typically end up being one of the statistics. It is important to get into the habit of planning various aspects of your business. Each year, I start off with a strategic plan that starts with a sales and marketing plan. This plan details every action I am going to take in my business that will support my sales and marketing efforts. The next area of my plan is to take a look at my operations and find multiple ways to become more efficient and to do things smarter, faster and cheaper.

Step Three – Organize your office and workspace

Clutter causes chaos! Organize your desk and your office and remove the clutter and watch for the three C’s (Clarity, creativity and calmness). When you are organized, you are more productive and not overwhelmed. Take this step serious and create organization in your organization.

Step Four – Make decisions and take action

Over the years, I have discovered the simple formula for success:

      Focus on your exact target + create a flexible plan + make quick decisions + take action

Successful business owners focus all of their energy on the exact goals they have in life whereas unsuccessful people focus on what they don’t have.

Successful business owners create a plan to achieve their goals that includes milestones and deliverables where unsuccessful people run their business ad hoc, day by day without a plan and without goals.

Successful business owners are master implementers and are able to make decisions quickly. Unsuccessful people ponder and delay. They are wishy washy and they often miss out on opportunities simple because they couldn’t make a decision.

Step Five – Decide you deserve this!

Empowering yourself to act is important but believing you deserve success is paramount. Once you have developed this belief in yourself and in your own abilities, you begin to attract success into your business and be open for new opportunities.

Join us again next week for steps Six – Ten.