WHAT PURPOSE HAS TO DO WITH SUCCESS
Ever feel bittersweet as you transition from one year to another? 2016 was that kind of year for me. I vividly remember the years when I could gladly say “good riddance.” They were difficult years. The loss of a loved one, my business didn’t meet my expectations or I didn’t meet my own expectations. But 2016 was unlike other years. It began with my business, in many ways, starting all over again. A plan of action was needed and following my purpose was essential. 2016 began with me diverting back to the goals written in 2001 at the inception of my consulting business.
Mission: Make a difference – Help others
Build a strategic customer base who fit into my value system
Ask for leads
Mentor
Build new programs/presentations
What made me go back to the beginning? I was forced to. For many years, I broke the practical business law of allowing my company to put all the eggs in one basket. Why did I do this? Lots of reasons come to mind, I liked what I was doing and every day I was able to make a difference and help others, my core purpose. I was still able to mentor, my happy place, and travel was sporadic and my son was young. I was so happy I forgot to grow my business. Next step was how to recover. My first thought, get out the original goals and build on them. They were proven to be effective before. It was time to get back at it! Goals for 2016:
Purpose: Make a difference – Help others
Build a diversified customer base by concentrating on targeted industries for training & education and in speaking at their conferences. Plug in additional training and presentations when traveling to optimize time and travel.
Use various methods for obtaining leads – social media; target associations and meeting planners; new and old customer base; vendors; and friends.
Mentor/Coach – provide help to others in the areas of sales and leadership for business and for victims and survivors of sexual assault to help them move forward in their healing process. Keep listening, good things always happen when I listen.
Build new programs/presentations – concentrate on the GenX and Millennial age groups in my presentations by keeping the materials current and relevant, appealing to their style of learning. Use ScrapDog in my presentations because people like him.
Study Conscious Capitalism – I would recommend this goal to every person I know.
Finish Book – Glad to say On Sales, Leadership & Other Helpful Business Stuff, is available on Amazon as is my book about childhood sexual abuse. https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=judy+ferraro
Find networking opportunities
Revamp marketing initiatives – website, handouts, business cards, trade show materials
Keep writing sales and leadership articles and blogs.
The result of my 2016 goals: I traveled on 45+ flights (because of this my husband flies for free on Southwest), delivered 5 keynote speeches that were interactive (not easy with over 500 people), worked with 12 different sales teams in large groups or one-on-one, spoke before 7 associations and at 2 universities along with exhibiting at a few trade shows. I wrote several blogs and 3 more columns for Scrap Magazine. And best of all, in 2016, I was asked by 4 different people from my targeted audience (GenX & Millennials) for mentorship.
It was one of my best years in business! Turns out the good kick in the ass at the end of 2015 put me to the test. Happy to report, I passed the test all while focusing on my core purpose of helping others and making a difference.
Bottom line: Identify and follow your core purpose, write and follow your goals and the rest will fall into place.
