This month we are breaking down the 4 consumer trends for 2018, as released recently by Mintel. There is no doubt these trends will affect small business owners and the way you do business, so we are going to help you stay at the forefront of business and planning by breaking it down.
Trend No 1 is Trust Funding, and you can read that article HERE.
Trend No 2 is Value, and you can read that article HERE.
Trend No. 3 – Personal Wellbeing
People across all walks of life are seeking better personal wellbeing, and are more aware of not just physical wellness, but also mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness.
According to Carli Gernot, Manager of Trends at Mintel, “Interest in self-care and preventive health has been building for decades, but a combination of strong forces is bringing these topics into the spotlight in 2018. Google searches for the term ‘self-care’ reached a five year high early this year.”
How does this affect you as a business owner ?
There are 2 groups of people whose personal wellbeing is directly affected by the way you manage your business and your life – that is firstly, you (and your family), and secondly your employees.
Firstly as a business owner and family member its important to have some semblance of work/life balance. Whilst this can be difficult to achieve there are many structures you can put in place to help the balance, including taking time for yourself each morning, eating well, fostering connections in your family and community, and finding the meaning and purpose in what you do. You can read here our top 10 list of actions to improve your work / life balance.
As an employer, self care goes beyond setting structure for yourself and includes making provisions for your employees to better care for their own personal wellbeing. Happy and productive staff make for a successful business.
According to eminent specialists Dr. Dan Siegel & Dr. David Rock, there are seven essential mental activities necessary for optimum mental health in daily life. These seven daily activities make up the full set of ‘mental nutrients' that your brain needs to function at it's best. By engaging every day in each of these servings, you enable your brain to coordinate and balance its activities, which strengthens your brain's internal connections and your connections with other people.
Focus Time. When we closely focus on tasks in a goal-oriented way, taking on challenges that make deep connections in the brain.
Play Time. When we allow ourselves to be spontaneous or creative, playfully enjoying novel experiences, which helps make new connections in the brain.
Connecting Time. When we connect with other people, ideally in person, or take time to appreciate our connection to the natural world around us, richly activating the brain's relational circuitry.
Physical Time. When we move our bodies, aerobically if medically possible, which strengthens the brain in many ways.
Time In. When we quietly reflect internally, focusing on sensations, images, feelings and thoughts, helping to better integrate the brain.
Down Time. When we are non-focused, without any specific goal, and let our mind wander or simply relax, which helps our brain recharge.
Sleep Time. When we give the brain the rest it needs to consolidate learning and recover from the experiences of the day.
So is there anything you can do within your business to help your employees have better balance across this healthy mind platter? Perhaps putting in place a small amount of physical time into the work day, or some connecting time each week when the team takes time out for a coffee and a chat? Or perhaps a training or information session on how they can aim for better balance in their own lives and families?
There is much we can do to improve our overall health and performance by just making small changes in our everyday activities. It's about stepping back and seeing the bigger picture, and also being accountable to ourselves or having a friend, coach or mentor to help us through the process.
If any of these points have resonated with you, you can contact us at Action Centre, and we’ll go through your current business structure as well as your life structure with you to see how you’re tracking, across all the important areas including leadership and operations. We can show you on our system where your business needs focus and give you the tools to help you get there.
You’ll find having an Action Centre business coach is just like having a marketing manager, sales team leader, trainer and recruitment specialist - wrapped in one - all for one nominal investment. We are the business partner you need without sharing your profits - with over 60 years of collective coaching experience to keep you on track and accountable for your own success.
Reference: The Healthy Mind Platter was created in collaboration by Dr. David Rock, executive director of the NeuroLeadership Institute and Dr. Daniel Siegel, executive director of the Mindsight Institute and clinical professor at the UCLA School of Medicine.
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