Reclaim A New Business Message

As I flipped the familiar pages of my inspirational calendar to today’s date, the lack of pages to follow reminded me another year is winding up. As I looked out my kitchen window at a beautiful snowy landscape and the fresh puffy snow lining the edges of my window, I reminisced about 2017. What a grand year it has been for me personally and professionally. Some years are just that way. Each wonderful adventure I participated in was with women whether it was the Marching in Washington DC, Running in the Boston Marathon with 261 Fearless or Hosting business, equality and sporting events.

It’s impossible to reach the end of a year and not contemplate the lessons learned for the good or bad. Whether it’s finishing the year with more sales then we expected, a few extra staff members than we planned or reinventing our marketing plan to attract a larger audience of customers, we have gained unexpected wisdom. Take a moment to think about the changes that happened within your company this year.

In the show “Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch”, four eager business owners get to boast about their million-dollar ideas. Each person has a 60 second elevator ride to deliver a pitch, while a panel of investors watches from a room. If the investors like the pitch, the elevator doors open to start talks on funding; if they don’t like the idea, the elevator takes the entrepreneur back down to the lobby. I’d like you to think about how you pitched your business on January 1, 2017 and how differently or similar you will pitch it on December 31, 2017?

Just like the days turn over on the calendar, our focus on what we want to sell, add or subtract in terms of our mission, products and services can change in 365 days. The next few weeks are the perfect time to ask what that pitch sounded like earlier this year and then again today. I know for a fact my year’s experiences along with needing to do more to help women in general have my pitch sounding slightly different. I’ll be working on it next week when I have some sunny beach days to stare at the ocean and dream it into reality.

Today’s Wednesday Wisdom is to inspire you to select a full day before December 30th to deliver your new or revised “Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch” in 60 seconds. What will you change as you move into 2018? What foundational piece will you keep? What are you excited about adding? It is okay to contemplate changes especially when faced with a new calendar year. I hope in the quiet reflection of the holiday season, perhaps under the colorful lights of the Christmas tree or the orange glow of the fire in your hearth, you are awaken to a new message.