In this episode...

Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies

Laura Hargrave: Welcome everyone here at Boss It. We would love to hear from you. Join us in our Boss It community by heading over to our website, bossitclub.com, and join our mailing list. As we grow, we will be launching our community of fellow Boss It BFFs, and we want you to be a part of it.

Okay, Sophia Noreen, let's dig into this. I can't wait to tell them all about how we got here.

Sophia Noreen: Welcome to the Boss It Podcast. My name is Sophia Noreen and I took an Etsy startup and launched it in big-box retailers within 12 months. As a creative with an entrepreneurial drive, I left my full-time career in healthcare to find better harmony between career, family, and self-care. We believe you can have it all. Yes, you can launch and run a successful scalable business while maintaining harmony in all aspects of your life. We believe we can learn from each other and draw on many experiences to create the best life possible. During each episode, we will share proven life hacks that will keep you on top and striving every day.

There should be no hesitation. Make a plan. Take action. We are here for you!

Sophia Noreen: What's up everyone? Welcome back to another amazing episode of the Boss at podcast. My name is Sophia Narine. If we have not met before, and I am so happy to say that we are officially in 2023, and I know many of you are probably thinking, what about the New Year's resolution or is it even worth starting to think about New Year's resolution?

What is the significance of January 1st? Anyways, it is essentially a new year, but why do we put so much significance into putting a New Year's resolution together if you're going to let it fall apart in a few weeks anyways, but of course, it's notorious that with a new year, many of us are going to have these big audacious goals or even small goals that will help us improve our quality of.

Now instead of just thinking about the goal, what are we gonna do to act? So today I wanna chat about a few essential things that will help get you through the next few weeks, two months. If you are considering keeping a New Year's resolution, especially if you are a business owner or an aspiring business owner, what can you do this year to get your business off the ground and start iterating on what your great big business plans will be?

So let's get into. And we've talked about this in the past, but the first thing I believe everyone should do when they are planning a goal, be it a New Year's resolution or a business goal or a health or fitness or lifestyle goal, is you need to think about your North Star or the reason why you would like to put this effort into achieving this goal.

Because if you have a North Star or something that will propel you forward when the going gets tough and it. Then you are less likely to give up. Now when it comes to a business, you are going to hit obstacles. You are going to hit roadblocks. You're gonna have good days, you're gonna have bad days. And sometimes you're going to say, why am I doing this?

Why am I doing this? I could be doing this instead of that. And you will either give up on your goal or you will self-doubt and sabotage your goal. What you really need to do is find that north star, that really big, deep rooted meaning for that goal or that big rooted reason you are going to put this energy into that goal.

And so for me, when I run my also Sophia business, for example, one of the reasons I have been so aspirational and continue to push that goal forward or that business forward is because I'm doing it partly for my children because they didn't. A few of the items I wish I grew up with. And second, I do it for the community because I know from their responses, either on the online website from their reviews or from speaking to people in person or seeing their reactions when they see the products on the shelves.

In big retail, it is for the community. They are extremely happy, and that is what keeps me going when the going gets tough. For the habit or the goal or the achievement you wish to achieve in 2023? Think about something external to you, something that will keep you moving when the going gets tough. A reason why you're doing this other than money.

Let's face it, I know money is one of the contributing factors for many people in their goal setting ways. If it has to do with the business, so forget about the money for a second because the money will not be what will motivate you when you're working late at night or if you have a better opportunity that comes, that sounds like it could be more financially success.

And the reason why I say that is because you are always gonna be presented with other opportunities. And for this goal to stick and work, you're going to have to work at it, and you're gonna have to work at it for a significantly longer period of time than you will actually think You will need to work on it, because things take longer than you will think they take when you start.

So again, think of your North Star. Think of the reason why you would like to achieve this goal. And try to make it something that doesn't have to do with yourself directly. More as an indirect. Of course, if you get the benefits of the goal, say it being your ability to quit smoking is a great one for many people.

If you are thinking about yourself and being like, I need to quit smoking because I don't want to die prematurely. I don't want to spend the money on cigarettes. Whatever the case may. Sometimes that's not enough. And I know you may be thinking, what are you talking about is my health and my goal? Why wouldn't it be enough?

Sometimes it's not enough. And what you could reframe it to say, and this may be triggering, but I don't wanna die of cancer because I wanna be here to see my kids grow up and go to university or college or get their first position or job. So that might be a bit more striking to you and feel a bit more.

That's true. I do want to see this for my children. I want my children to have me present during that time so I better take care of my health today. So that way I have the ability and the stamina to enjoy that time with them when their time comes. So again, disconnect the frilly parts of your goal. Say it be money and disconnect perhaps, or say indirectly have it so that your goal doesn't necessarily impact you directly, but those external to you.

So in my case, of course, I've done that with the business saying, sure, there may be some financial reward for the owners of a business, but. Helping the community achieve products at a reasonable price point so they can now celebrate with their community in a new, innovative way and allowing children to have the experience that they may not have had otherwise by providing the products for their parents to purchase off the shelf during a seasonal holiday.

So that is my best advice for. That is my tip number one, to really be realistic with your goal, and of course, be able to look for the North Star to help propel you forward when the going gets. Another great tip to make sure that you are successful with your goalkeeping is you're going to make sure you connect this goal or this habit to something that you are already doing in your regular daily routine.

And an amazing goal for me anyways, was to try to get a bit more onto social media because I know that really helps us have that connection with the audience to be able to relate to the brand, relate to myself as a business owner. I do struggle with that. As I know many of us, we shy away from getting on social media, or we find it very cumbersome because you have to make sure still some people care about how they look on camera.

Some really don't. But the point is you need to make a conscious effort to get on camera and maintain that presence on camera if that's something that you wanna do for your business. So that's a goal that you may be sharing or maybe a goal about your habits in regards to eating healthy or in regards to exercising more.

A very popular goal, of course, for people in the new year trying to get back into the gym and or try to take more walks. One great trick is to understand that if you have a task or if you have a routine already formulated, you could connect that goal, that new goal, to an already in place formulated routine that you might be doing.

So I would say a great example is people get back from work or they finished their last meeting, and if you habitually say to. I need to put on my running shoes at this very moment, so that way I will go out for my walk. That will allow you to be prepared for the next step. You're essentially connecting your routine to the newly formed habit, and you're taking that first very small step towards accomplishing that goal.

And I love this because the goal could be very, very big. It could be something like, I need to run a 5K marathon. But in order to start that, you need to start by training for this marathon. So if you can tell yourself, I'm going to make sure I get onto the track, or I run at least one kilometer a day, and that's your goal.

You have to break it down even further and make sure your steps are so finite and small that you can achieve it without. Overwhelming yourself with the entire process. So whatever this goal may be for you, you need to understand that you need to break it down to the most smallest tangible step possible, and then insert it into your day with another habit or with another part of your schedule.

Another really great example for me coming back to our social media is I'm very understanding that when we get on camera, we have to do camera, makeup, camera, lights, camera set up, and that requires a specific time of the day that needs to happen. So it's scheduled in my calendar that this is the time of the day that I need to achieve.

Particular production, and because I have other people who rely on me to get this footage, I know that they're counting on it to come in at this specific time of day, and that helps me stay even more accountable to my presence on social media. Yes, we have a small team because with everything going on, if I was to do it myself, it would fail.

There is no way I could continue moving forward with any of it. Be realistic on what your capacity is, but also set yourself up for success by breaking down your goals into those finite single steps, so that way you can place it into your calendar and tell yourself, yes, I'm going to resist. I'm going to resist going for that run.

But I know if my running shoes are sitting next to my bag, and as soon as I'm done my day and I put my laptop away, or I get ready to leave the office, I'm gonna put on my running shoes. Now I. I'm not gonna be putting on my flats or my flip flops or my other shoes or my slippers if you're at home because I'm putting on my running shoes and then I'm naturally, oh, my running shoes are on.

That's a great excuse now for me to get out the door and do what I need to do to train for the marathon. So again, you need a plan. And you need to be tricky with your plan because if you can trick yourself either by putting in small reminders throughout the day with the running shoes and or having a team, somebody external to you, relying on you to get that task done, then you're more likely to be successful around formulating your goal and executing on it.And I think we all need to be reminded about one big thing that can come up for anybody who. Trying to achieve a big goal or any small goal for that matters, and that is that you are going to trip up and you're going to have days that are not gonna be as successful. You are going to not feel well. Some days you're gonna fall ill, some days you're not gonna wanna execute. Some days. Some days you're just going to need a break. And you have to be nice and kind to yourself because you are human. And yes, you are going to need those breaks and you're going to need to tell yourself if I happen to miss that run, or I happened to miss a few weeks of content creation, which actually did happen in my.

Then you need to be kind to yourself. You have to tell yourself, yes, I can actually get back on track and I can execute this. There's a number of reasons why I should continue to do this, and it brings you right back to the first thing that we spoke about earlier, which is your North Star. So even when you mess up your projections, you don't think you're going to hit your goals because you didn't actually follow through on the plan you had created for yourself. Remind yourself again, why are you doing this? Why did you start? Where are we going and reset the clock and say, it doesn't even matter that I missed X number of days or X number of weeks. I'm coming back because I have a goal. I have a North Star, and there's a reason why I started. And if you can align yourself to your North Star again, then you're likely going to be able to jump back in with just the same amount of enthusiasm you had when you started the first time. And when that time comes, and you do have to reset, remind yourself that this is also part of the plan. That when you progress on a journey towards your goals and your ambitions, there are going to be days when you're not going to be as successful with completing the goal or task at hand, and that is also part of the process and plan.Now the disclaimer is you cannot use that as an excuse every single time saying, oh, it was part of the plan that I was gonna not go for the run for 10 days of the month because I expected that. No, don't use that as a crutch or an excuse. But what I'm saying is be kind to yourself. You are going to have days when you're not gonna feel your best, so you're not gonna execute the way you feel you should be executing, but you can always reset the clock, use your North Star and start again.And especially for our business owners. It will happen. It will happen time and time again. You're going to hit a brick wall and you're gonna say, my numbers are not making sense. It's not lining up. It's taking so much longer than I expected, and your plan will feel like it's fizzling out. You do have to bring yourself to that moment of realization that your North Star is why you started in the first place.And again, if money is the reason, it's going to not motivate you for much longer. If it is right now, you have to be real. Money takes a long time to come into fruition. When you are starting a business, you have to be patient and you have to keep going and you have to reevaluate. And sometimes it comes to the point where you're like, well, I can't afford to do this anymore.And that's the hard call that many small business owners do make. But the point is, if you do have a North star that's strong and it's not for financial gain specifically, it will keep propelling you forward. And even when you have those moments of setback or you fall off course, you'll be able to jump back in with just the same level of enthusiasm.All right guys. Again, happy 2023. I am super glad you stay till the end of the video. Remember to hit the bell and subscribe and you can follow us on Instagram at BT Club. Head to our website as well to catch old episodes or check out the channel if you are on the YouTube because then we have some videos there for you. And remember, we're here every week, so make a plan and take action. And yes, you can have it all and we'll catch you again later. Take care. Bye. So my fellow bosses, did you enjoy that episode? Now it's time for you to make a solid plan and take action. But first, remember to subscribe and follow the boss at podcast so you receive a notification whenever we drop an episode.

Remember to leave us a review on iTunes. Take a screenshot of your review and share it on Instagram as a post or a story and tag us at vot. If Instagram's not your thing, no worries. Email your screenshot to podcast boss club.com. As a massive thank you, we will be sending you our top 50 tips for starting and scaling a business. This list is exclusively for podcast reviewers, so don't miss out. Now, remember, bosses make a plan and take action in all aspects of your life. Yes, you can have it all.

Sophia Noreen: So my fellow bosses, did you enjoy that episode? Now is time for you to make a solid plan and take action. But first, remember to subscribe and follow the boss at podcast so you receive a notification.

Whenever we drop an episode. Remember to leave us a review on iTunes. Take a screenshot of your review and share it on I. As a post or a story, and tag us at Bost Club. If Instagram's not your thing, no worries. Email your screenshot to podcast bost club.com. As a massive thank you, we will be sending you our top 50 tips for starting and scaling a business.

This list is exclusively for podcast reviewers, so don't miss out. Now, remember, bosses make a plan and take action in all aspects of your life. Yes, you can have it all.