This is my favorite time of year – one of the best times to reflect on your business, refresh your strategy, and rejuvenate yourself as a person and business leader.
Large organizations typically begin a planning cycle in September, reviewing the past year, noting both successes and failures, and utilizing this information to plan for the upcoming year.
Most small business owners are too busy to have a formal process, but I encourage you to take a day out of your busy schedule and go through a planning process.
Questions to ask include:
How do my revenues, expenses and profits compare to my original budgets at the start of the year? Did I experience any growth that I did not plan for? What expense categories did I overspend and was it a good use of capital?
Where did I spend the majority of my time – marketing, administration, working on deliverables, operations? As I move forward into the new year, do I want to reallocate where my time and energy is focused?
What is working and not working in my business? What changes do I need to make for the new year to increase revenues, minimize expense and maximize profits?
Review now will pay off in 2015.
And be sure to take some time to enjoy life and rejuvenate yourself for another busy year ahead! Taking some time away from the business can offer you valuable insights and perspectives that are difficult to see on a day-to-day basis.
Wishing you and your business all the best this holiday season!