Welcome to 2015! I look forward to the Christmas and New Year holidays a lot, mostly because it’s the longest holiday I -- or anyone, really -- get in the year.
But I'm always excited for a New Year and fresh beginnings, and so after the holiday festivities are over and you sneak those extra few days off to relax with family and good friends, it's time to get back to work. For me, January 1 is for family and January 2, well, work begins. The start of my year is geared mostly at sending ‘thank you’ and ‘well done’ message to the members of my team.
I wondered about how other entrepreneurs started off their year, so I decided to find out. I sought the input from some good friends and fellow entrepreneurs. The answers varied, as expected but either way, everyone has a solid plan.
Here are the varied answers to “How do you start your New year?”.
“In church with my family then back home. Nothing eventful. Only job I have to do today is write my annual New Year's message to my team.” -- Victor Asemota (@asemota), CEO/Principal Swifta Systems
“Usually, the end of the year is a planning process for me. Preparing work that'll be relevant for the next. I just continue with that work hoping I'm finally done before it's time to resume fully for work.” -- Adeyinka Amurawaiye (@ADYK_41), Cofounder Meditell
“Well, I've been starting the year for the last two weeks. Organising all ideas in a todo list, Prioritizing which ideas to do when writing the annual business plan with goals we want to reach and how to achieve them and Actively relaxing in preparation for the new year of hustle!” -- Mark Essien (@markessien), Founder Hotels.ng
“I’d start by being grateful to my team for the past year. And being a Branding guy, they wouldn’t escape a New Year focus talk. Asides from focusing entirely on my core activity within my business, I'd be focus on delivering great customer experience in the New year” -- Joshua Chibueze (@JoshChibueze), Cofounder PushCV
“Traditionally, I start the year with family but because my family isn't in Lagos, I started my new year with dodo & brandy (laughs). But this was while following an online course on Algorithms & data structures complexity” -- Celestine Ezeokoye (@celestocalculus), Founder Ocaman
“Although I usually plan for the new year from the last week of the preceding year, the start of a new year for me is mostly a 3-Phase process which includes reflection on the year ending, assessment of current standings, and then plans for the new year. January 1st is usually set aside to spend with family and friends, so work is kept to a bare minimum until the second day of the year when I sit down with my partner to set personal and career goals. I do the same with my team for business goals. And as a man of faith, I do a good amount of thankful reflection and prayers for the upcoming year.” -- ‘Nubi Kay (@NubiKay), Internet Entrepreneur and Digital Media Strategist currently working at Accenture and Travel Bay
“Nothing special for me. I just continue from where I stopped the previous year. Usually I do have left overs which must be completed.” -- Emeka Okoye (@EmekaOkoye), Open Data Nigeria
There you have it! Different strokes for different folks, but it’s all geared toward good success. So tell us, How do you start your New Year?
