You decided to start a business, and things started off so well! You had a great idea, and you dove into it headfirst. Now all of  sudden you feel like you’ve plateaued, or perhaps your results are not what you want them to be. Are you spending huge blocks of time on your business with little or less than perfect results? Simply having a goal does not make it a success. There are some key ingredients to achieving success, and as long as you get clear on the steps and follow through, you will achieve what you are setting out to do. So here are some key steps for giving your business that “jump”.

1) Find something that inspires and moves you

Unless you are in love with what you do and are inspired by the very idea of it, forget it. Would you do what you are doing for free? Do you light up and almost find yourself talking too much when you start to describe it to others? Does the very idea move and excite you?

2) Master It

Master your passion. Become great at it. Read up on it. Investigate your competitors. Even after you achieve success to any degree, learn some more. Be the best authority you can be. You do not have to be the best in the world before you can start something – just always strive to be the best you can be. Remember that you are a work in progress. Make sue that you know your subject, new trends, and any new developments in that area.

3) Understand how to make money at it

So, you have something you love, and are great at! Now develop a specific written plan on how to monetize it. If you have some vague ideas and take some vague actions you might or might not get vague results. Be specific in your plan and expectations. Know exactly what service you are going to provide and how.

4) Have a clear Vision of what your Success looks like

How will you know when you have succeeded? What does success look like to you. If you follow your plan, and everything falls into place what will the picture look like? Write down exactly what your business will look like. If you have a random vision, you will have random actions and produce random results. Have a very clear set picture of the end result, and work systematically to that end.

5) Believe you can have it and achieve it

We achieve or fail based on context. Whether you look at this point factually or esoterically, the fact is that when we believe we are going to be a success we work harder longer, and put in more dedicated effort. If you set out to fail, you will. If you know that you will make a HUGE success and reap your rewards, you will do everything in your power to get to that point faster.

6) Take Daily Action

Careful planning is essential to every business. But unless you actually do something with your plan, its just a plan. Do you remember Newton’s laws of motion? (Actually it shocks me that I still do)

First law: “A body persists its state of rest or of uniform motion unless acted upon by an external unbalanced force.” While you are resting, so is your business. Unless you are the external force that drives it, there will be no forward motion.

Second law: ” The net force on a particle of constant mass is proportional to the time rate of change of its linear momentum”. The velocity with which you hit the market is directly proportional to the rate at which you change or move forward with your business. It is up to you to create linear motion and momentum.

Third Law: “To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”. The more you want something, the more hurdles and obstacles will appear. The Universe always tests our commitment. Regardless of opposite reactions, continue action, and you will reach your goal.

The bottom line: Have a clear vision of the end result. Create a concise and logical plan of action. Then execute it. Plan your work and work your plan. Rinse and repeat.