As we say goodbye to 2008 and hello to 2009, I thought I’d take a moment and share with you the business lessons I learned in 2008. (Yes, it appears to be one of those lovely facts of life that you never stop learning no matter how much you think you learned the year before. But I digress.) Here are my top five lessons for your studying pleasure.

1. Gotta keep focusing on your mindset. I saw it over and over with myself last year. I get cloudy and I start struggling with my business. I’m clear and focused and my business is easy and effortless to run.

If I forget myself and allow myself to get distracted by whatever what’s going on (in other words, get in my “stuff”) then all of sudden I find I’ve attracted a whole bunch of problems (or “issues”) into my business. When I keep my focus on the positive and what I CAN control, then suddenly things get a lot better.

One of the lessons I learned is you should never stop working on your mindset. Even if it’s only 5 minutes a day, just enough time to take some deep breaths and center yourself and maybe say a few affirmations, that can be the best thing you do for yourself AND your business.

2. It’s like an onion. Sadly, this was the most unfortunate lesson I had to learn in 2008. You know all those issues and blocks you work so hard to get through? Well, guess what — they never actually go away. Yes, no matter how much you work on them and through them, they keep sticking around, just at a deeper level.
(Sigh.)

So, I’m here to tell you this is a lifelong process. Don’t beat yourself up over it, just accept it and keep working through them. And remember, even though it can get frustrating at times, the more you work on these things, the more you WILL see success at every breakthrough. The rewards are there if you’re willing to do the work.

3. Your habits are more important than you think. What do you do each day? Are you spending hours checking email and pushing paper around your desk? Do you find your days disappear and you look back and wonder what exactly did you get done?

I’ve studied a lot of successful people, and one thing they all have in common is they have pretty rock-solid habits. They get up early, they make time to read, exercise, work on their mindset, etc. Yes, they might not always get everything done on their to-do list, but every day they’re working toward the bigger picture.

I made a point this year of dumping old habits of working that no longer served me, and starting new habits. Now, I’m going to admit I’m not perfect yet. Some of my old habits still creep back now and then. And it wasn’t easy (I broke habits I had for years.) But, it was worth it. I’ve more productive than I’ve been in years, but even more importantly, I’m more relaxed, calm, and at peace than I’ve ever been.

What habits do you need to break? Do you numb yourself with too much television, Internet surfing or some other distraction? Do you find yourself sucked into drama or gossip? Or maybe you just waste time doing things in your business you could hire a virtual assistant for half (or less) of your hourly rate?

And what habits should you be doing? Journaling? Reading? Exercising? Meditating? Eating healthier? Once you start replacing your old habits with new, healthier ones, you’ll probably be amazed at what starts to happen in your life.

4. Get the right people on the right seats on the bus. Building a team, and making sure the team is the right one for you, is crucial. You can’t do it alone. You need people around you to support you and do the work you have no business doing. But you need to make sure it’s the right team for you. And don’t be afraid to make changes — sometimes the team that was right for you 3 years ago is no longer right for where you are now.

When your team is clicking, it’s a great feeling. The work is getting done, you know you’re supported and it takes such a huge burden off of you.

5. Don’t be afraid to give up control. The smartest thing I did this year was give up control of the operations of the business to my husband. If you’re anything like me, you’re not the best person to be running the operations. You should be focused on the vision and leadership of the company, plus the other aspects you’re good at. The details of whose doing what and is it getting done is probably not your strong suit. That’s why, after you’ve grown to a certain level, you need to take yourself out of that role.

Now, you might not have a spouse who can handle the operations, and if that’s the case I encourage you to look for an operations manager. While it might feel like a big leap, it’s an amazing freeing feeling. All of a sudden I have the energy and space to truly focus on what I should be focusing on, instead of getting dragged down by the minutia.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 11th, 2009 at 1:54 pm and is filed under Business Planning, Solo Entrepreneur Mindset, Vision/Goals/Plans. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Michele PW (Michele Pariza Wacek) owns Creative Concepts and Copywriting LLC, an agency that specializes in direct response copywriting and marketing campaigns for small businesses as well as online traffic strategies. She helps people become more successful at attracting new clients, selling products and services and boosting business. To find out how she can help you take your business to the next level, visit her site at http://www.MichelePW.com. While you’re there, don’t forget to download her free special report "5 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make That Kill Their Sales...And How To Prevent Them."