Planning out your year in review may feel daunting at first but it’s a fantastic way to set ‘big picture goals’ and to make sure you have enough down time.
One of the things I love about this is it enables me to plan in my holiday and know when I’m going to take proper breaks. If you have a business that allows you to travel and work at the same time, then take advantage of that! If you have family members or friends that live far away, then plan in trips to see them and then build your business around that.
This is why having a small business is so exciting! We get to create the lifestyle that we want, so make sure your business is serving you.
With that in mind, this post is much more about goal setting and stepping back to see the bigger picture. If it’s useful for you, you may also want to go back and use some of the earlier posts e.g. are there things that only happen once a year in your business (e.g. do you host an annual event) or in your life (e.g. your birthday!)
I run events and plan the ones that I most enjoy into my birthday month, because why not? I get to choose! Doing this early means I can still see the spread of events across the year and make sure everything is balanced.
Things to reflect on when planning your year…
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Always go back to your WHY for running the business. What motivates you and brings you joy? Make sure these things take the lead in your planning.
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What HAS to happen in your business across the course of the year? What are the non – negotiables?
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Are there seasonal trends to your business? E.g. do your customers disappear for August but bulk buy from you at Christmas?
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How can you plan your workflow around this? Can you go away when they aren’t around / could you book a holiday to recuperate straight after your busy periods to help pull you through?
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What is needed to help you get through the busy periods? Do you need to recruit people? Plan backwards and figure out when you’re going to do this…
Set annual goals, whether it be financial or something that will mark your expansion / development. Plan backwards from these milestones and get key dates in the diary so you know when you can achieve this. For example: What is your revenue target for the year?
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How does this break down by month? (Taking seasonal trends into account!)
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Where is that money going to come from? E.g. how many sales does that equate to?
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How are you going to hit your targets? E.g. what marketing strategies are needed?
How many x do you want to sell / how many clients do you want to work with?
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Break this down by quarter, month or week depending on what makes most sense
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How can you hit these targets? What help may you need?
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How can you celebrate when you do?
Are there any ‘big dates’ in your diary e.g. an event or conference?
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Get the date in the diary first and then work backwards so you can plan each stage
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Brain dump all the different components that need to happen, from room bookings through to sending out the invitations.
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Pencil in a date next to each one and then shuffle them round so you’ve got a timeline that flows and is easy for you to follow through.
Block out time in your diary for things that are important in your personal life: seasonal celebrations/ birthdays / retreats / training opportunities / personal challenges…
Please get bank holidays in your annual calendar! When you run a small business, they don’t really exist to you… there’s no obvious ‘work day’ or ‘off day’ you choose, and unless you have a team, no one will excitedly remind you about them. No one wants to be working when the rest of the country is off though, so take the day and plan something fun with friends or family.
Sit down with a brew and your favourite snack, so we can start planning! This is your roadmap to success over the next 12 months so please be kind to yourself, make it realistic and take your time over it.
Remember that it’s absolutely fine if things change (in fact, it would be surprising if they didn’t!) but having a plan to work from gives you a clear sense of direction. It’s time to get excited about what the next year holds for you and your business!
