How quickly has this year gone? I don’t know about you, but I feel that it’s really flown by (my mum just tells me this means that I’m getting old). Already we’re in December again and once the last Christmas orders are out of the way, most of us will be thinking about winding down for a well deserved two weeks off.
But then, during this quiet time, it’s often a perfect opportunity to start planning for the New Year. Here’s my top tips to make this process work for your business…
1. When was the last time you wrote a business plan and had a really good look at all the facets in your business? For a lot of us, this was way back when we started. The New Year is a great time to do this as most people are fairly quiet during Christmas and the first couple of weeks of January. Why not use this time to take a look at your business in detail – not only within your business, but outside of it too?
2. Have a really good look at where you want to be by this time next year. It’s really easy to wander along aimlessly and take each day as it comes, but if you work out what you want to achieve, you’re much more likely to get there.
3. If you already know what you want to do, have a good think about whether it really makes you feel motivated and want to get out of bed in a morning. Many people have goals, but aren’t really that bothered about achieving them. If you’re passionate about your goals, you’ll do everything in your power to get them.
4. Don’t forget to write your goals down! Committing them to paper means you’re much more likely to achieve them than simply keeping them in your head. Tell your friends and family too and get them to ask you what you’ve been doing to achieve them. What better way to keep you motivated and accountable?
5. Planning for the New Year is much more than just working out what you want – once you’ve got goals that make you feel passionate, write down how you would know you’re working towards your goals. For instance, if my goal is to win a tender, I would know I was working towards it if I look at the tender websites every week, got a book about tendering and applied for 2 tenders a month. That way, I would feel as though I was actively working towards my goals and keeping motivated. This is also the first step in the business planning process.
6. Remember that although this year has gone really quickly, 12 months is actually a long time and you’ll need to keep motivated on working toward what you want as you move through the year. Plan in rewards for yourself as you tick off activities that show you’re working towards your goal, tell people and get your friends and contacts to ask you how you’re getting on and give yourself a huge reward if you achieve your main goal.
7. Keep the number of goals small – it might be realistic to achieve 10 during the year, but any more than that, you may struggle.
8. As well as what you want to achieve for your business, remember to look at what’s going on outside too. The New Year is a great time to see what’s happening with your competitors, review your marketing strategy and have a hard look at your cash flow and try to predict what’s happening next year. If you’re not sure where to start on your business plan, simply email me (details later) for some top tips on where to start.
9. Don’t forget to plan in some personal goals too – life’s not all about running your business, you may want a break occasionally!
10. Finally, remember to have some fun when you’re planning for next year – many people forget that it’s your business, you can do exactly what you want with it and running it is supposed to be fun.
Happy Christmas and have a great 2008!
Helen Dowling runs Exceptional Thinking which helps small businesses and start-ups with their marketing, market research and business planning. The email address for business planning tips can be found in my profile or call on 0845 644 9371.
To learn more about this author, visit Helen Dowling's Website.
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