Start Up Kids Line

Happy New Year – are we all hanging in there?

January 6th, 2009

Hello everyone and Happy New Year! I’m still here and hanging in there. I’m doing great actually, I feel the new year is off to a good start. I spent a lot of December doing business planning. I hashed out my total financial goal and then broke it down into monthly goals.

Create a time line for 2009

My 2009 time line is different than my master business plan (which is in desperate need of an update too). Starting with the main financial goal, I mapped out not only how much the sales should increase each month, but also what it will take to make that happen. I have a plan for release of new designs, monthly advertising and pr, rate of increasing sales reps, and even the number of units (by product) that we need to sell each month.

How to get yours started: Make a list of the top ten things you want to have accomplished by the Dec. 31, 2009. Write this in past tense (ie: We made $8 zillion this year). Next, get 12 pieces of paper, and starting with your MAIN goal, work backwards from Dec. Make sure you cover all the development, sales, and marketing steps it will take to reach the monthly goal. Think about potential obstacles you could encounter each month and create a plan for overcoming them (including laziness and de-motivation!).

Meeting my January goals

One of the first things I need to help meet my January goals is MORE HELP, and thankfully, I’m getting it already. We’ve brought on some fantastic new sewing contractors for the blankets. This is huge because it will decrease our turnaround time without effecting the quality. This will translate to even happier customers, which will translate to more good word-of-mouth for the company.

Stay committed to your goals and plan

The hard part about goals is staying committed to them. So I make myself look at my January plan every morning. So far I’m on track. Had some great conversations with existing retailers today, will be visiting a few of them next week because they are ready to re-order (yes!!). We’ve got new designs for them too – which the retailers always love.

So that’s how I’m starting the year – optimistic.

Other ways you can stay connected to your goals include posting them on the wall, creating a vision board, and having an accountability partner.

Side note on the CPSIA – I’m not saying much about how we’re handling this because I’m not in any position of authority on the matter. I’m weeding through the information and am talking to whoever I can and am forming a plan. I’m not panicking, I’m not panicking, I’m not panicking…please visit Fashion-Incubator.com if you are looking for more detailed information on this very pressing topic. Also Get on twitter and search #cpsia to follow the conversation.

Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/babyfabulous

Have a great new year!!

Entry Filed under: Planning beyond the collection