Small Business Advice: Set Yourself Up For Business Success - 5 Different Ways

Have you ever been to a seminar, or read a good article, or listened to someone share something that really impacted you positively. You felt so eager to go try it out, to do what they recommended, to make a significant change in your life. Months later, you realize that you have not made that change or the change didn't stick. New Year's resolutions are quite like that. A lot of good intentions that fizzle out by the end of February.

Why is that? In my study of successful entrepreneurs, I learned that one of the greatest separations between those who become successful and those who do not depended on the person's environment. Your environment is typically what's going on around you, who you spend most of your time with, where you spend your time, and what you let into your mind. Whatever your success intentions are for 2008, you will need to set up your environment for success.

Here are 5 ways to set up your environment for success in 2008: Share your success plans selectively. Even though I don't get a lot of negative feedback from friends and family, I've chosen to keep my loftiest goals to myself or I share them only with like-minded people. I learned that you don't need to share everything with everyone. And particularly when you're on the path to success, choose wisely who you share that plan with. When you are entrepreneurial minded, people often won't understand where you're coming from. Who are the like-minded people with whom you can share your success goals for 2008? Likewise, who do you need to stop sharing your success goals with because those people are of a different mindset, or simply too negative. Meet with like-minded people regularly. Someone once said that your success (and your income) is the average of the people you hang around the most. Now I'm not suggesting that you ditch your friends. However, it's good to find opportunities to hang out with people who are a step beyond where you are in your growth and in your business. Folks who can and will hold you accountable for your goals. Folks who will encourage you to reach higher and achieve more than you ever have. Where can you find like-minded people to collaborate with in 2008? How will you intentionally spend time with them? Make time for growth. To accomplish your goals for starting a business or any goals for that matter, you must become a student of success in that area. I'm usually surrounded by books, audio CDs, teleseminars, or other materials that give me guidance, direction, and the recipes for the success in a desired area. What commitment can you make for 2008 regarding your own growth? What book will you purchase or get from the library? What program will you enroll in? Check out www.seminarannouncer.com where you can sign up to learn about teleseminars and other seminars online and offline. Use the gift of time wisely. I use "the gift of time" wisely. By that I mean, I always have a book or something with me when I'm forced to wait. Rather than complaining about the wait in a doctor's office etc., I pull out my book or listen to something on my iPod. Sure, sometimes it's just music for my own spiritual and emotional balance, but other times, it's a teleseminar I downloaded or an audiobook (www.audible.com) that I recently purchased. Commuting time is awesome for listening to audio that fosters your personal or business growth. New Year Planning. New Year planning is vastly differently from New Year's resolutions. Resolutions tend to be wishes without a plan. A plan has specific daily, weekly or monthly actions with dates by which they are to be done and sometimes with the people who will hold you accountable for doing them. It's been said if you fail to plan, you then plan to fail. Intentionally create a plan for what your success environment and your goals will look like in 2008. What changes do you need to make? How can you set up your environment for success? Who do you need to connect with? What do you need to feed your mind, your intellect, your spirit..... and start today.