2020 is literally just around the corner. If you’re thinking of starting either a new business next year, or you’re hoping to grow your current business that you just started, then definitely read this post until the end. Today we’re going to talk about the four New Year’s resolutions that I really think you need to consider if you want to accelerate your growth.

You see, every next level of your life will always demand a different version of you. This means if you are a goal setter, and next year you either want to start a business or accelerate your current one, it’ll be absolutely necessary that there is a facelift on not only your mindset, but also on how you approach people and things. So let’s break down the four essential things that you should really consider as your New Year’s resolution for 2020, if you want to accelerate the growth of your new business.

Invest in yourself

The first and foremost is to invest in yourself, specifically on mentorship and education. Now, I started my publication site just couple of months ago, and already within this short amount of time, I’ve been able to end up with good statistics and engagement of my articles, as well as affiliations and partnerships with other high-authority sites.

So what exactly was my secret weapon on this early stage success? Well, the secret weapon is that I paid the price. Long before starting my own blog, I have been writing articles and creative valuable content for many other blogs for the past 3 years. During the course of my career as a content developer and copywriter, I have spent well over $5,000 on courses, mentorship, general education, events and others, not only to up-level my skill set but also to fast track my success. Some of you might be thinking, ‘What? You spent over $5,000 on all of that? That’s insane.” But if you really think about it, on a day-to-day basis, many of us spend the same amount on clothing, on food, on travel, and at the end of the day, all of those day-to-day short-term expenses do add up to around the same amount. However, when you spend money on leveling up yourself through education, training, coaching, mentorship, or however you want to call it, that’s technically not called an expense, but rather it’s called an investment. As an investment, the knowledge that you receive from those books, events or mentors has the potential to actually pay you back. In other words, it’s called a return on investment.

Let me explain this further. Let’s say you spend $2,000 on hiring a business coach to mentor you during the process of you launching your business. Yes, $2,000 seems like a lot. However, during the time that you’re working with your business coach, you are learning the fast track route of the strategies, of the mistakes to avoid, of all those things that can contribute back to your business. And because you have this newfound knowledge and training, you’re able to multiply your earnings. Let’s say in the beginning you were only making $1,000 a month with your business. Because you’ve worked with that mentor who has literally given you a blueprint for success, you’ve been able to triple your profits and make $3,000. So my friend, that’s what we call a return on investment.

The same concept applies to courses, books, events and other such things. If you want to grow your business next year a lot faster than the average, then my advice to you is definitely learn to invest in yourself. Rather than seeing everything as a scary expense, start seeing it as an investment that will get you from point A to point B a lot faster. Not being willing to spend money to invest in the growth of your business, or in other words, not allocating the right amount of marketing budget to boost up your initial sales, is one of the 7 common mistakes all startups should avoid.

Declutter your social media

The second New Year’s resolution idea that I have for you is to do a social media declutter. You’ve probably heard the saying that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. Have you ever wondered how that applies to social media? Think about it. If your social media feed, whether it is Instagram, YouTube, Facebook or some other, is constantly flooded with cat videos, memes, or celebrity drama, don’t you think that would indirectly affect your growth as a new entrepreneur? I honestly have a feeling that it will, especially if you engage with these accounts. That’s actually signaling to the algorithms of Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, whichever social media platform, that that’s the type of content that you want to see. Consequently, those social media platforms are going to continuously push that type of content for you, because you’re literally telling them that those are your preferences.

Something that has really helped me level up during my journey is to start unsubscribing and stop engaging with the accounts that aren’t really contributing to my growth. I also try to tell Instagram and YouTube why I don’t want to see any particular content or why it’s not relevant for me. That way, it’s making room for the algorithms to push the content that I do want to see, which is more about self-help, entrepreneurship, business tips and digital marketing. Because of that, I am able to be always surrounded by content that I’m learning from, and that has substantially helped me as a new entrepreneur get on top of my area of expertise, and also learn new things every day. So if you want to level up next year and naturally surround yourself with the mentors that you see on the internet, then definitely start doing a social media declutter, so you can make room for that type of content that gets you closer to your goals.

Get rid of your fears

The third New Year’s resolution idea that I have for you is to train your mind to see fear differently. This is more of a mindset shift than anything, but it is so crucial if you want to accelerate your growth as a new entrepreneur, or as an aspiring entrepreneur in 2020. The reason why this is so important, especially if you’re starting out, is that most likely you are on your own. You don’t have a team that’s pushing you forward.

For many new business owners, what prevents them from moving faster in their business is usually their inability to handle fear and discomfort. That fear and discomfort can include many things. That could be being afraid of what your friends, family, and even strangers might think of you for pursuing your business idea. This could also include quitting your comfortable job in order to go all-in on your vision and on your business. That’s really scary as well. Another thing is being afraid of potentially wasting all of this time on something that might not even make you money.

While all those fears are completely valid and common for new entrepreneurs, I want to share with you something that Grant Cardone said. He says that when you can handle fear, then you can handle success; and how you respond to this fear ultimately makes the biggest difference in your life. Keep in mind that all successful entrepreneurs have had their fair share of fears too. But what’s made them successful is their ability to break through them. That’s why as you enter 2020, and as you want to crush it with your new business, it is absolutely imperative that you change your mind and perspective on how you deal with fear. Rather than seeing fear and running away from it, you need to be able to see fear and do it anyways.

Get obsessed with execution

Now the fourth and last New Year’s resolution idea that I have for you is to be obsessed with execution. How many of you have gone on coffee chats, taken multiple courses, gone to many events, and still don’t do anything with the information? Or how many of you always take a mental note to do something later, but don’t actually do it? Trust me, I’m guilty too. When I was first starting out trying to figure out exactly what I wanted to do in my business, I caught myself saying, “Oh no, I can’t start until I have another course. Oh no, I can’t start until I go to this event. Oh no, I can’t start until I read this book.” But what I realized is that I didn’t need another certification; I didn’t need to read anything more; I didn’t need to learn anything more. What I did need to do was actually do it and take the action. At the end of the day, what I really had was analysis paralysis!

It’s really great to get all that knowledge and acquire all the things that you might need to know to start a business. However, what’s going to really accelerate your growth is actually doing it, even if you feel like you aren’t ready. If you really want to be successful, you need to take all of the knowledge that’s stuck inside of your head, and bring it out in real life and apply it. So if you want 2020 to be the year that you quit your job, or that you start your side hustle, then stop being that person who takes way too long figuring it all out, and start being the person who’s obsessed with execution. Knowledge is power, but it’s useless if you don’t take action on it.

Definitely consider choosing at least one of the New Year’s resolution ideas that I gave you, and let me know in the comments section which one you end up implementing.