The year is fast coming to a close. Did you meet your 2015 goals? Okay, ‘fess up, did you set goals for 2015? If you set them back in January, did you keep up with them?
Now is the time of year to schedule down time to look at your business and how it worked last year, what didn’t work, what needs to change and what milestones you reached and what successes you can celebrate.
Having a roadmap to get you to your destination is the best way to assure you don’t get lost when you’re traveling. The same holds true when you’re building a business. You need a roadmap. You need milestones by which to measure whether you’re on the right path, whether you need to change course or whether you should just stop and ask for directions (aka work with a mentor or find an accountability partner).
The week between Christmas and New Year’s is the ideal time to step back and evaluate the year that’s wrapping up and to plan for the new year that is dawning.
What can you do to wrap up 2015? Here are some tips:
- Step away from the computer. If you’re in front of the computer you will likely get distracted.
- Spend time writing down (okay, you can use the computer, just stay off the Internet!) what you want to accomplish in 2016. Do you want to attend a conference? Find a mentor? Sign up for some online certification courses? Write more blog posts? Write a book? Now is the time to dream big. You can go back later and update your goals into manageable chunks.
- What did you do last year that you simply don’t want to do in the new year? This is the part of your business planning process in which you’re learning to say no and to limit your business clients and endeavors to those things about which you are passionate.
- Tally up what you did this year that you loved. Write down what you did that surprised and delighted you (and try to do more of that in 2016).
- If you’re a blogger, make note of how many blogs you posted on a monthly basis. If you’re not a blogger but know your business would benefit from working with one, now is the time to reach out to a copywriter who can help you formulate a content strategy for your blogging and your social media.
Don’t go into the new year without a plan in place. Make 2016 be the most successful year yet