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End-of-the-Year Planning Made Easy – Part 1

December is a great time to look back at the previous year and plan for the next. Unfortunately, it is also pretty busy. On the business side, you might be trying to finish up some projects or close out your fiscal year. At home, there are holiday preparations and kids home from school. You might also be traveling to spend time with family, or hosting visitors. What you http://www.wholewebimpact.com/umbraco/editContent.aspx?id=1472#need is a quick and simple way to take care of this vital business visioning. Here are 5 simple steps to plan for next year.

You don’t need any fancy software or forms to complete this process. You can type your thoughts into a document on your computer or write in your journal. The key is to set aside some time to complete each step when you won’t be distracted by email or anything else.

Step 1 – Review

The first thing to do is to take a look at where you are right now. How are things going?

  • If you have your final numbers for the year, take a look at your revenue and expenses. Did you meet any targets you had set last year?
  • Is there anything you see that didn’t go as planned? What unanticipated challenges did you face?

Spend some time giving yourself credit for what you did accomplish.

  • Did you launch your business this past year?
  • Did you introduce a new service or product?
  • Did you build your list, double your clients, or implement a massive marketing campaign?
  • What about your online properties? Did you launch a new website, start blogging, regularly send an e-zine, or systematize your social media communications?

Your operations also deserve some attention.

  • Where are you with staff and outside service providers? Has your business grown this year with the addition of a virtual or personal assistant? Have you been able to hire professionals to take over aspects of your business – web development, bookkeeping, or client relations?
  • Have you been working with any coaches or consultants? How has that relationship been working out for you?
  • What sort of systems or tools have you put in place to help with management or marketing?

Make notes about these different areas until you feel you have a reasonably full picture of your progress this past year.

Step 2 – Examine the “Leftovers”

Was there anything you wanted to accomplish this past year that just never happened? Were there goals you set a year ago which weren’t met? What projects did you mean to complete but fell a bit short on? If you have a written copy of last year’s plan, it should be easy for you to compare your actual progress with your plans. You might have become aware of some things when doing your review in the previous step. Make a list of all the things you had wanted to do, but didn’t.

Now, forgive yourself and release any feelings of guilt or failure. At this point, it doesn’t really help anything to bemoan the certain things that didn’t get done. Priorities change and opportunities arise, after all.

Step 3 – What’s Missing?

If there are any “business basics” which you feel you need to establish, but haven’t yet, make a list of them. Depending on when you established your business and what has changed for you, the list will be different, but here are some things you might be considering:

Financial/Legal

  • Registration as a business entity (DBA, LLC, Corporation, etc)
  • Tax ID Number for business
  • Business checking account
  • Business credit card/ line of credit
  • Merchant account/PayPal account
  • Attorney
  • Bookkeeper
  • Accountant/Tax advisor

Branding/Marketing

  • A business coach or consultant
  • Clear target market
  • USP/tagline
  • Logo & Stationery/Business cards
  • Website
  • Blog
  • Facebook Business page

Operations/Administration

  • A virtual or in-person assistant (or one of each)
  • Prospect list management system
  • Operations Manual
  • Client management process/systems
  • Billing & collections procedure
  • Computer back-up system

There are probably other things you know you need as well, or there might be things you currently have, but need to “refresh” or improve.

Web Action Steps

  • Get out your computer or notebook and go through the process outlined above.

Next week, I will share the final steps in the process so you will be prepared to meet the New Year with confidence, and end it with success. Keep in mind that if one of the things on your list of missing basics is a website or blog, get in touch with me soon so I can help you finish that project next year.