What gets written down gets done.
December is the perfect time to stop, take stock and assess your year in business. An annual audit of your business processes is essential for ensuring that each year is better than the last. Actually, let’s make that essential for survival.
Beyond the basic profit vs loss analysis, some questions you might like to ask are:
Who are my best customers and where do they come from?
Does this reflect where I have invested my time and money in marketing and advertising?
Am I getting enough website traffic and where is it coming from?
Which social media platforms are working for my business?
Do I still get to do the things I enjoy?
What do I want an ideal 2019 to look like? Better work/life balance? More money? More customers? New offerings?
Yes,but…..
Now let me give you 3 scenarios that might be running through your head:
- I’m too busy to read this blog let alone review 2018
- I will review 2018 but I haven’t got time right now to make a plan for 2019 so I’ll probably just wing it for a few months.
- I’ll review 2018, make a plan for 2019 but I know there will be things on there that will get pushed to 2020 (gulp). I just know I won’t get round to actioning them all!
Do any of these sound familiar to you?
The common theme here is lack of time – and this may well apply to some of the goals you have in mind for next year.
Finding time to seek out those ideal customers. Finding time to dedicate to regular social media posts on the platforms that are effective for you. Getting back to the enjoyable aspects of your work i.e. why you went into business in the first place.
If any part of your “ideal 2019” involves adjusting your own personal focus then the best thing you can do is add outsourcing to your business plans.
You may well have been giving consideration to what tasks a VA could take off your hands, so why not make this year the one that you go ahead and try it? You can find some inspiration on my earlier blog post “The two questions I always get asked”.