An End-of-Year Business Assessment Provides Clarity, Perspective & an Action Plan

The end of a year is often fraught with copious hustle and bustle; there are holiday commitments piled onto productivity deadlines as well pressure to complete the year on a profitable note. Perspective can be lost in such a whirlwind of activity and priorities. You can end up feeling exhausted and flustered by December 31 and unsure of how your business really performed during the year that’s coming to a close.

Often, we don’t take the opportunity to take stock of the previous year - yet it’s prudent to do so in order to acknowledge victories, learn from missteps, dream big and plan ahead for increased success.

Here is an approach to assess your year to gain a clear picture of what transpired so you can begin the new year on a grounded basis, poised to go for greater success.

Review the year in detail. Don’t rely on your memory for this - look for the proof. Go back over your calendar, your contracts, your social media, and your photos to dig up the truth about the year.

Ask yourself these powerful questions about your business’ positive performance:

1. What positive (and/or profitable) connections did you make?
2. What projects did you take on and knock out of the park?
3. In what ways did your business retain (or double down on) its commitment to its core values?
4. How many glowing reviews did customers provide?
5. How often did you become aware of ways your business could expand or build additional streams of income?
6. What happy surprises occurred professionally?

Surely during your review you also were reminded of some things that didn’t work out. Take note of those as well:

1. What obstacles did your business encounter?
2. What opportunities were lost or mishandled?
3. Which projects didn’t go as planned?
4. Were there times when priorities were compromised?
5. How many customers voiced dissatisfaction with your performance?
6. What challenges to professional growth became apparent?
7. What unexpected expenses or incidents were incurred?

It’s important to take the opportunity to sit with this image of your business; really take it in. Acknowledge you have much to be proud of AND there is room for improvement. With this balanced perspective top of mind - what went right and what…didn’t, you can indulge in an exercise in dreaming forward based on the reality of your business. After all, little comes to fruition that is not first consciously imagined.

Now reflect on these big, audacious questions a bit and name some BIG, AUDACIOUS goals for the year ahead like these:

1. If there were no limits to resources, where would you like your business to go in the next year? The next five years? Far into the future?
2. What is your dream income for your business?
3. What do you see as your responsibility as a business owner? To your employees? To your customers? To your community? To the world at large?
4. What is your ideal working situation: Location? Work space? Employees? Work/life balance?
5. What ultimate impact do you want your business to have in the world?

The final part of the exercise is to create an action plan for the year ahead based on a combination of reality and dreaming forward. You now are aware of what you can accomplish - and you know where improvements need to be made -  so you’re thinking realistically. This is the frame of mind from which you can claim what you really want. Name that conference you want to attend, that client or contract you want to land, that opportunity you want to go for!

The action plan is a list of small steps that need to happen in order for progress toward the bigger goal to be actualized. Some steps that can help move the needle toward attaining your dream goals include:

1. Assemble a team to address last year’s deficiencies so they won’t hold you back moving forward.
2. Take a class or get training where your skills are lacking or lapsed.
3. Schedule time on your calendar for something you “never” seem to have time for.
4. Send a “brave” email(s).
5. Secure help with things that distract you or sap your energy.
6. Establish boundaries in situations that don’t align with your goals.
7. Step up generously to volunteer your time and talents and your business’ resources.

These types of actions will become habit and build upon one another to contribute to the success you want to bring into your business. Once you have brought to mind a realistic picture of the year that was, you can dream forward from an informed, realistic place and put together an action plan that will move your business in the direction you most want it to go.

What professional dreams could you actualize from this approach to an end-of-year assessment?