Asking for more for your business in 2024

Are you asking for more for you and your business in 2024? Do you have a growth plan; a business strategy for how to get where you would like to go? asks Simone Milasas.

As we enter into a brand-new year, it is common for business owners, managers and senior executives to do an analysis of the previous year and to use that data as the starting point for what to expect in the upcoming year. The gathering and reviewing of data is intended to provide useful information so that the company can correct course where necessary, optimise success, and set “realistic” goals for the growth of the new year.

Data, for obvious reasons, can be useful. However, whilst this sounds counter-intuitive, I would suggest that only focusing on data can limit business growth and keep you from exploring other possibilities.

 4 alternative strategies to increase your business success in 2024

Acknowledge your successes

When analysing data, it is often instinctual to look at the “failures” of the business. What didn’t work? Where were their losses? What goals did we not meet? The concept behind looking at the negatives on the business is that it is the conflict, the disappointment, that will be the catalyst to improve and do things more efficiently and effectively. This approach doesn’t actually work because you get more of what you focus on. Focus on lack, you get more lack.

So, before diving into perceived shortcomings, have a look at what did work. What did you create? What targets did you hit? Even if you operated at a loss or had to downsize including laying off employees or you had a product line that was a disaster, set that aside for a moment. What successes can you acknowledge? For starters, you had the courage to do something new; to give something a try. You took action. You kept going. Make a list. Write down every success, big and little, and celebrate all of them. Ask the question for everything: What did I gain here that I have not acknowledged?

Stop using data to tell your business story

Do you believe that anything is possible, or are you stuck in your stories of lack and limitation?

One of the greatest dangers of overusing data, is that the data becomes your story. It doesn’t matter if the story is good or bad, both limit you and your business. If you had a successful year in terms of revenue and growth and that becomes your story, you are limiting what you can create now because you are focused on the past and you are likely going to use that information to determine what to expect in the new year, rather than being open to growing more than you could possibly imagine.

If your story is negative, telling it over and again creates internal conflict, which leads to stress and anxiety and when you are functioning from stress you block ideas, solutions, and creativity. It is like a kink in a hose; nothing is able to flow easily.

When you notice that you are telling your business story, interrupt that pattern and ask a question. What else is possible here that I have never considered? How does it get any better than this? What can I choose here to change this? Asking questions unblocks creativity and the ideas and possibilities will flow again. Ask questions that raise curiosity and inspire and empower staff and colleagues for a different possibility.

Linearity is limiting

Using data to construct a business plan puts everything in a linear perspective. You determine what you think is a reasonable target for your business within the next year and create a step-by-step process for how you think you will get there. The problem with figuring out the ‘how’ is that you limit other resources, inspirations, and solutions from coming your way. You limit them, because even if they are right in front of you, you cannot see them. Why? Because that is the way your mind works. Whatever you decide about something, your mind finds the data that matches your decision and ignores everything else.

I recently injured my back. The result of this injury was that my beloved hiking and running, which included elevation, were no longer something I could do. I required level walking surfaces. I could have decided that I had to give up my walks until I recovered but I did not do that. I looked around. I wondered, “What else is possible? I wonder what else I could do so that I can enjoy nature and move my body?” Asking these questions led me to new, beautiful level trails that are less than 10 minutes from my house. The data said, “You have an injury. You cannot walk uphill.” My questions challenged the data, and a new discovery was made.

Embrace Relaxation

Approaching business strategies from the perspective of trying to fix problems creates stress and tension in your mind and in your body.

A peaceful mind and a relaxed body have significantly more access to new ideas and inspirations. Choose relaxation no matter what the data says. Go out in nature. Spend an hour a day doing something that is nurturing to you and your body. When you are reviewing necessary information and you notice tension, walk away for a minute, and do something different. YOU are the valuable product. Take care of yourself by embracing relaxation and there will be more space for things to expand and grow. Relaxation is not the absence of action. Rather, it is an energy that is infused into everything you do.

You and your business can have more in 2024. Acknowledge your current successes. Ask questions such as, “What else is possible and what can I choose here?”, rather than telling your business story. And, no matter what is occurring at this moment, RELAX. You’ve got this. As the most valuable product, your business needs you. Numbers, statistics, profit, and loss statements need not be significant. Don’t ignore them. Instead acknowledge what is and ask how it can get better. Ask. Choose. Create!

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