This is the third year for which I’ve picked a theme. It’s been a great way to push ahead on one big, bold area of my business that I want to work on. My theme for 2012 was my signature system, which is written in being finalized as we speak. I seem to get my theme project done every year but it usually takes all year. I recall finishing something relating to my 2011 theme last year on the day of New Year’s Eve!
My signature system is a comprehensive guide to setting up a home based, solopreneur business based on packaging and selling your knowledge. I’ve finished the first draft and need to polish the writing and get some feedback from my inner circle before launching a beta version sometime early next year. (If you are interested in being the first to know when it’s ready, be sure to sign up for my newsletter in the red box in the sidebar. I’ll be offering it there first.)
My theme for 2013 is speaking. I enjoy public speaking and seem to have been spared the fear of speaking that so many people suffer from, so I’ve decided that this will be the next big push in my business. This is an example of one of the most important principles I live by – use your gifts to serve others and improve the world. By luck of the draw, I have a gift of being able to speak publicly without big fears, and so my belief is that I should use this to help other people. Speaking is a great way to reach a lot of people in a short amount of time, so even small speaking gigs are really effective.
I’ll be crafting my signature talk after I finalize my signature system so I don’t have the specifics yet, but my talk will cover some of the same things in my signature system. I’m committed to the idea that people will benefit from the talk whether they go further with me or not, so you can be sure there will be loads of great information you can take action on right away.
So, I’ve shared my theme for 2013, and now I have a big, burning question for you.
What’s your theme for 2013?
What’s the single most important thing you could focus on in 2013 so you end the year with a grander business that moves your mission in the world further along? Share it in the comments.
If you’re not sure, let’s schedule a time to talk and figure it out together. Click here.
If you’d like to read last year’s post where I share my theme for 2012, click here.
Next year, my theme will be to declutter my life… I’ve begun doing it by throwing out my old computer shell (Dad and I stripped the inside of it) and I scrubbed out the cage of my recently deceased budgie (Little Miss Stevie passed away last Saturday from heart failure after taking a stroke on 1st, December… it was heartbreaking to watch her take her final breaths and then have to listen to the silence in the house… I’m looking forward to getting another bird in the New Year). Those two things are the first things to be done.
However, I have suitcases I haven’t used in 15 years that I will have to give away to Life Line (a charity organisation for the poor) and I’m going to have go through my entire wardrobe and be brutal with myself… and then I’m going to work on storage around my house. I live in a small townhouse – where space is not something to waste. So, I’m going to save as much money as I can to buy storage solutions for my space problems.
So, it’s decluttering and space & storage solutions time in 2013.
Mozette, that’s a great theme! I think decluttering is pretty much always a positive thing. I always find it feels so good to edit my possessions so they line up with with my life as it is now.
I’m also doing this because I’m turning the big 40 next year… so it’s time to change over my life again. When I was 30, I had been on my own a year; and I was just getting my life together. Now, it’s a little over 10 years later, and I’d like to make my life better, less cluttered and easier to find things… and next year is the first year in doing this.
Mozette, the timing of your comment is funny. I’m working on a piece right now on decluttering!
Another motivational piece, Michele! My theme for 2013 is “smart growth.” I’m in the process of figuring out how to expand my capacity to provide more content to my existing clients (and to take on more clients!). That will mean bringing other professionals into the mix on a project-by-project basis so I can dedicate more time to writing while things like research are taken care of by someone else.
I’m excited for you as you introduce your system to the world. And I’m excited for the world to receive it! You always provide practical, no-nonsense advice – I’m sure many, many, many solopreneurs will benefit from your guide!
Dawn, I love the idea of “smart growth.” It’s one thing to grow, but growth can be filled with perils if not done correctly. It’s great that you are focusing on what you do best. I think as solopreneurs it’s good to continually refine the business as we change and grow over time.