Do This One Thing to Ensure Business Success in 2024

As we fly into the new year the topic of resolutions always pops up. Despite religious origins or perhaps because of them, the secular practice is usually about self-improvement. And the plans for self-improvement often overflow into our businesses. And then get translated and transformed into goals around making more money.

I think the direct translation from improvement to more money is a cultural response to what we’re supposed to want. Social media and popular culture literally bombard us with pictures of success defined by “6-figure months” and “7-figure businesses.” But what if we challenge that? What if we translate that idea of improvement differently?

Please don’t take this to mean that I don’t think your business needs to be profitable. You 100% should aspire to cover your expenses and do more than just “survive” on what you’re paying yourself. But getting rid of those externally defined, solely numerical definitions of success creates room to set entirely different intentions. 

What if your goals for this year looked more like:

• Working 4 days a week
• Taking the month of August off
• “Firing” our most problematic client
• Not launching any new products
• Having lunch once a week with a friend
• Having time to work out every day

Changing Your Definition of Success Changes Everything

Figuring out what success looks like for you can create a seismic shift in how you approach your business. I used to think that my definition of success was being the CEO of a venture backed company and leading it through a successful exit. But once I was in that position, I realized that job made my hair fall out and sent my stress level into the stratosphere. And at some point (probably while lying on the floor clutching a hefty adult beverage because my back was seizing), I realized that I was aspiring to a vision of success that didn’t make me happy or healthy. So I reconfigured the whole thing.

I’m not saying it was easy or instantaneous. But changing my definition of success allowed me to stop comparing myself to others and feeling like I wasn’t good enough. In all honesty, I backslide sometimes, wondering if I’m achieving enough or if I should be working harder. But most of the time I can change the direction of those thoughts by remembering how unhappy that life actually made me.

It comes back to this: Life is too damn short to wake up every morning with your mind racing and trying to figure out how you’re going to pay people this month if that’s not what you really really really want to be doing.

Creating Your Own Definition of Success

So as you’re creating those business intentions for next year, here are some questions you might ask as you think about what success means to you:

• Why did you start your business (if you are an entrepreneur by choice vs. necessity, what called you to venture out on your own)
• What do you want or need the money in your business to do for you and how big do you want or need to get? (What you choose to focus on this year if you are trying to build a $5MM company is very different from what you might focus on to build a $500K company.)
• What are the costs associated with getting bigger (managing employees, less free time, increased risk)
• Are there ways other than money that you want to use to measure your growth and success (industry awards, community accolades, testimonials, impact)

Regarding resolutions as they relate to entrepreneurship, sometimes it can be really hard to measure progress in ways other than financial rewards because of all the peaks and valleys and loops you didn’t even know you were on. But if you can focus on the parts of your business that make you happy (for me that’s flexibility and the freedom to work on something I really love), and craft your resolutions around making those parts better, your year ahead can be your most “successful year in business” yet.