Tick, tick, tick.

Can you hear the fading sounds of the clock of 2007? You'll be reminded next week as you flip the calendar page over to November that the year is about to close out.

And before your busy life becomes busier with the advancing pressure system known as the holiday season, it's time to begin thinking about and planning what will be going on in your business in 2008

You may want to ease into the planning process with a large twelve month wall calendar for 2008. I'm referring to the "at a glance" type planning calendars you can buy at an office supply store; all twelve months of the year printed in a Spartan-like fashion on a 24" X 36" poster. There are no beautiful photographs on these planning tools since they are all business.

Hang it on the wall for your first 2008 planning session attended by key people or conducted solo by you.

Identify and mark these important dates:

1. Vacations (for you and staff)
2. Days Off (for you and staff)
3. Horse Shows
4. Clinics at farm or ranch and away
5. Significant holidays
6. School recesses and beginning and end of summer vacation
7. Open houses and demonstrations
8. Foaling and breeding dates
9. Summer camps
10. Staff meetings

You'll find the process of placing colored stickers or using colored markers to highlight and identify the dates will promote good strategy discussion for all involved in your planning process. You may also find you have less available time to do the "normal" events of your business than you ever imagined.

The benefits of planning 2008 now are:

• Events and key dates won't sneak up on you
• Enthusiasm for events and projects will build due to anticipation
• Dates won't be, oops, double-booked
• You and your staff will have plenty of time to focus on a project
• Your customers can plan ahead, too, and set aside the dates on their own calendars
• You will have a greater sense of control over your time and feel more relaxed as a result

In less than an hour, you can get your business plan for 2008 started with the time line you create with your own business planning calendar.

Need a speaker about the horse business for your horse organization?

Talk to me about talking. Keynotes and workshops available. (716) 434-5371

"Define your business goals clearly so that others can see them as you do." -- George F. Burns

"Work expands to fill the time available for its completion." -- C. Northcote Parkinson

"There's no business like show business, but there are several businesses like accounting." -- David Letterman

One of the members of my weekly teleconference mastermind group was talking about her goals for 2008 and how she developed her own theme for the year. She asked me what my theme for 2008 was.

Dead air was followed by my classic statement of non brillance, "I dunno". I like the idea of having a theme for the year and preferably it would have more meaning than, "be successful - make money"

Weekend pitchfork duties allowed me think time to create a theme for me for 2008.

It is - Visualize, Materialize, Capitalize. I wrote more about it in a blog entry. Click here to read more.

What's your theme for 2008? Send it to me and I'll post it on the blog for others to get inspired. You can remain anonymous for the post if you choose.

I work with Professional Horsemen who are struggling with the business half of the horse business.

Just like a top performing horse has a strong foundation, so does a top performing horse business.

If you've had enough with not enough: time, money or the right people in your horse business give me a call and we can talk about how Profitalbe Horseman strategies can help you.

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I appreciate your help !