What The Year Of The Sheep Means For Your Business

Our business, Prim’d Marketing, launched last year during the Chinese Year of the Horse. According to the Chinese Calendar this meant making decisive actions in a fast paced year. 

The Chinese New Year is today (February 19th) and we are moving into the Year Of The Sheep. What does that mean for you and your business?  For Prim'd, we're closing out the fiscal year and starting to think about growth and scalability as we move into our second year of business. With that on my mind, here are some "Year of the Sheep" predictions from the experts, along with my take on what that could for you and your business:

• Success Is In Sight: According to Feng Shui expert Lillian Too of World of Feng Shui, this year will present immense opportunity for everyone "to make money, achieve success and attain goals.” Sometimes finding those opportunities means opening yourself up to new ways of thinking — approaching things differently than before, based on informed knowledge from past experiences.
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• A Well-Balanced Year: It is "a “well-balanced” year because of the “presence of all five elements – metal, wood, water, fire and earth" according to Too. Having more of a work life balance is something most of us desire. So taking time out to reflect on your business is just as important as being in the day-to-day grind.
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• Don’t Feel Defeated: "The first half of the new Lunar year will be a time conflict, but it will last for a very short period of time. Things will take a positive turn in the latter part of 2015 and relationships will improve," says Too. Don't let a potential conflict discourage you though — we tend to learn our most important lessons with an element of struggle at the beginning.
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• When To Start a New Venture: For those thinking about opening a new business this year, "it will be a good idea to start their venture mid year," says Too. So maybe the planning starts now with launch date of mid-year in mind.
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• Co-Operate As A Collective: "A feminine Yin energy will strengthen relations and inspire community-building as a collective," says Molly Hall . I know Jenni and I feel stronger when we are connected with those in our community such as our partners and fellow entrepreneurs in our co-working space.
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• Express Your Creative Side: "The year of the sheep is a time for artistic development," says Susan Levitt. It is also a great time to tap into the creative side of your brain by taking peaceful moments to replenish and get into a better headspace.
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• Take compassionate Actions: "People will do better when they act assertively instead aggressively," says Lillian Pearl Bridges.  Working together rather than against one another will help change things for the better. So if you begin facing difficult situations, try to learn from those uncomfortable business lessons and build them into better strategies going forward.  

Here at Prim'd Marketing, just like many other business owners, we've planted quite a few seeds in 2014. We're really excited to see the lessons and energies of last year’s efforts take root in fertile ground and start to bloom into tangible results.

As we move into the new Chinese New Year, it may subconsciously be a time for reflection and reassessing your goals (A great way to start this is with our Creative Ways To Make Better Decisions post). Even if you don't celebrate Chinese New Year, you can use it as a great excuse to look at both your finances and operations or to optimize scalable growth in the New Year. 

As we know its not easy being boss, so think about the strong side of the sheep, which is its ability to hang tough and persevere in harsh conditions. So forge head this year, and when necessary, push against obstacles in a mindful way. 

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