2011 COULD BE A GREAT YEAR FOR YOU – THE CHOICE IS YOURS

I was listening to two very different callers on a radio station this week, both addressing the current state of trade.

FACING A FUTURE WITH FEAR

One caller was a painter and decorator. He had been in business for twenty years. He was very unhappy. ‘People aren’t moving’ he said. ‘They are staying put and not spending any money. Those that are moving are choosing new-builds which don’t need decorating. There just isn’t much work around and I am worried I might be going out of business’.

FACING A FUTURE WITH PROMISE

The second caller was a woman. She had just set up in business with a colleague as an estate agent. ‘We are experiencing the opposite,’ she said, in answer to the first caller. ‘There is plenty of work out there. We are marketing ourselves in the most up-to-date ways using the internet and mobile technology. We are offering excellent customer service in every area of our organisation. We are finding plenty of customers who like our approach and are wanting to deal with us’.

THE BIG FREEZE

January 2011 has begun very slowly.

For some, the big freeze outside the office has turned into a big freeze inside also.

Some companies and individuals running their own businesses seem frozen in their tracks, frightened to spend anything, frightened to do anything.

They have hunkered down, fearful for their futures. They are afraid to try new ideas – because they cost money. They have forgotten that if you want to be in business, you have to pay to play.

A TIME OF OPPORTUNITY

New competitors are indeed starting up everywhere. For them 2011 will be an amazing year of creativity. It could be the start of an extraordinary decade of brilliant innovation.

These new businesses and enterprises may have been started by people who have been made redundant, by those who have chosen to leave their jobs or by individuals who have re-entered the workplace after a period away.

These brave entrepreneurial individuals have chosen to do their own thing now. For them the future looks exciting. They see that hard times create opportunity. They see it everywhere they look.

THE YEAR AHEAD

2011 will see extraordinary changes in the way we develop as a society. It will also be a year when we will get used to new ways of using technology on a daily basis.

And as each new product is invented and each new service is developed and expanded, they will in turn inspire hundreds more clever ideas which will spin out from the original concepts and make money for those people and organisations who have the courage to try new things.

THERE ARE CUSTOMERS OUT THERE

2011 will be whatever you want to make of it. There are still many businesses out there making money and individuals who have money to spend.

They are often your next-door neighbours – people with two salaries and no children, older couples whose mortgage is paid off, people who are cautious with their money but enjoy spending it if there is something they particularly want.

IT’S TIME TO LOOK AT YOUR BUSINESS HONESTLY

If your business or your work is in a rut it’s time to take stock. Look at the companies and the people you admire. What are they doing differently? What are they doing that is working? What do their customers like about them?

Think how you can emulate their success in your own unique way.

Make up your mind that you will become more open to new ideas and be more flexible in the way you work. It is always hard to make changes but if you want to survive in business, you have no other choice.

2011 is a year when, unless you choose to make change freely, you will find it forced upon you whether you like it or not.

Creating change takes courage. And it takes leadership to take your colleagues along with you. But the rewards you receive, when you step out of your comfort zone and aim for the stars, are often far greater and more spectacular than you could ever have dreamed of.

I wish you a successful 2011.

Judy
www.judypiatkus.com

Follow Judy on twitter http://twitter.com/judypiatkus

I have launched a blog and I blog regularly on small business, entrepreneurship, new trends, publishing and books.

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NOTICEBOARD

I have recently launched five audiobooks on www.audible.co.uk. Four of them are about building a successful business. The fifth is about finding your perfect partner and that is based on my book Lovers Wisdom. Go on the site and listen to a sample www.audible.co.uk