Happy New Year everyone. Well I have set out my three key objectives for this year. This is something that I do every year and yes I know it sounds like something straight out of a ‘self help’ book , but I find it works for me.
My husband Steve and I have been doing this every year for the last 10 years. We sit down with a piece of paper and write down what we want to achieve and prioritise together. We have come through some really hard times together and I put a lot of it down to the fact that we have been working towards the same goals in life.
In 2007 our priority was to start a family, despite all the odds we managed it and little Zac was born in 2008. In 2008 Our priority was to move to Oxford and buy a bigger house – despite the recession and falling house prices we sold two of our houses and bought a fabulous house in Oxford in June 2009.
Our main priority this year is to grow both our businesses. For miamoo it means getting some investment to help us grow and fulfil an exciting and lucrative export contract with a French distributor and to grow the Waitrose business, currently we are in 22 selected Waitrose stores, ideally we want to be in 150.
So for me the year kicks off talking about money at a time when it seems no one wants to part with it or very little is available. But this doesn’t put me off, everything that I have ever wanted in life I have had to work for against all the odds – I have never had anything handed over to me –I’m used to battling it out for what I want and you know unless you really fight for what you want one can’t really appreciate its true value or get a real sense of achievement and satisfaction.
I have a meeting with some various lending bodies, first there is my bank, then I am going to see a venture capitalist and finally there is the option of some family and friends putting the money in. I am going to explore all the options and will let you know which one I decide to take and why.
It’s very exciting but at the same time very scary for me because I was brought up not to borrow money and to spend within your means. That’s ok on a personal level, i.e when relating it to a housekeeping budget, but you can’t take that approach when running a business, especially if you are a growing one. My business mentor, Kevin, has promised to hold my hand throughout the whole process so I am feeling a lot more confident in myself.
This year is the year I focus on finance and ensuring that my business plan is robust and on track to make miamoo one of this year’s SME success stories. Since the launch of miamoo my business plan has adapted with the times so much so that it bears little resemblance to what it was 4 years ago.
I totally underestimated the growth of the business and have grown a lot faster than I had imagined/forecasted. I refer to my business plan a lot. It’s not just a document that you create and then file away, it is my bible, it keeps me focussed on the bottom line and gives me direction of where I should prioritise my activities.
As well as running my business I also have to manage my media career and it looks like I am going to have a great year for making some very interesting programmes.
My performance on Celebrity Mastermind over Christmas was not the best thing I have done on TV, although it was a lot of fun. The general knowledge round threw me completely, it was the first question John Humphries fired at me, ‘what does P.A.Y.E. stand for on a payslip?’ My mind just went blank – …. ‘Pay As You Earn,’ said Mr Humphries, with a little chuckle to himself.
I screwed my eyes and then failed to answer that ‘Kiwis’ is the term given to people who come from New Zealand and not Australia! Overall, it was an experience that I enjoyed and I am really glad that I did it – I got a respectable 16 points. Alistair Stewart won the show with an astounding 26 points. But I can redeem myself by saying, it was for charity and at least I had ago – but there is no excuse for being an airhead sometimes is there?
Saira’s website: click here
Miamoo: click here
Tags: Christmas, New Year Advice, Saira Khan, The Apprentice
This post has been commented 2 times
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January 13th, 2010 at 2:35 pmJo Tall says:
I agree with your idea of putting down your objectives for the year.I too have been doing this for the last couple of years and recently,I was having a bit of a New Year low and that “arghhhh, where do I start?”feeling,and so I read over my old objectives for 2009 and realised that I had achieved most of them and quite a few extra ones too which immediately made me feel better. On a business level, a business plan serves the same function and gives you a sense of being in control and a plan to follow. They may seem like a real headache to prepare, but DO persevere.Business Link have some great templates to get you started (see http://www.businesslink.gov.uk)Here’s wishing everyone a great year ahead!
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January 19th, 2010 at 8:02 pmget tips says:
ah at last, I could find your article once again. You have few useful tips for my school project. Now, I won’t forget to bookmark it.