It’s November, and that means that before too long we will be eating turkey and opening presents… and if you’re not careful, the year will end and you won’t be ready for the next calendar year of your business.
Also, all month long I’m calling the shots with each episode and talking about what’s important to me. I’m turning 40 this month and as a result, I’ve got a lot to say. Check out this week’s episode of Incredible Factor TV:
I don’t want that to become your reality. In fact, we have already determined our 2016 theme – Grow Your Business With Grace. Honestly, the way to a graceful business-building journey is to plan and systematize. In the hope that you need help getting this process started, allow me to share five tips that I highly recommend you implement before this year is out. (I strongly suggest doing them sooner rather than later.)
1. Create your 2016 operational budget. You need to be clear on what it will take financially to run your business and live your life the way you desire. Without a budget, you are going to create strain for yourself and household. If you’ve done this before, be sure to complete a comparative analysis. By the way, if you’re running a business without a budget, not only are you leaving money on the table, you are overspending and reducing your productivity. If you are truly building a business, you’ll have to act like it and having a budget is key.
2. Complete a SWOT on your products and services. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Strengths and weaknesses are internal and opportunities and threats are external. Before this year ends, be sure to evaluate your products and services against this matrix to determine which should stay and which should go. This will help you to create your “starting lineup”. Having a lean product line up is a better way to go to show up as an expert in your industry and this process will help with that.
3. Hold a strategic planning session with your “team.” Whether your team is virtual or live, getting their feedback about how the company has progressed over the last year is key to getting ready for the New Year. Simply carve out some time to do this with your team members. If you don’t have your own team, pick three clients to hold this session with. I recommend your “best” client, a one-off client who maybe just worked with you once and a client who has seen you through a few years of service. This process is so important and will truly set you up for success.
4. Rediscover your reason why. We are coming into a new year and typically we up-level our goals each year. In this process, take the time to rediscover your big why. Knowing “why” will keep your momentum up when you feel like things aren’t working. Building a business is hard work and knowing what is in it for you, will help you to stay put when times get tough.
5. Celebrate the year you’ve finished. Be it good, bad or indifferent, there are reasons to reflect and celebrate. As an entrepreneur myself, I know all too well that it’s easier to keep going versus stopping long enough to acknowledge what you’ve done. My recommendation is to take the time before the year is out to stop, reflect and celebrate the big (and even the little) victories you’ve experienced along the way. Doing so will shift your perspective and create more things to celebrate in the future.
Now I want to hear from you: What’s your two cents? What else should be done before 2016? My list is certainly not an end all be all. I can’t wait to hear what you have to share!
©2015 by Darnyelle A. Jervey. All Rights Reserved. Darnyelle A. Jervey, MBA, The Incredible Factor Business Optimization Coach and Mentor, is the founder of Incredible One Enterprises®, Incredible Factor University® and the Leverage Your Incredible Factor System®, a proven step-by-step program so you experience financial and spiritual abundance in your life because of your business. For more information and a FREE audio CD “7 Critical Mistakes Even Smart Entrepreneurs Must Avoid for Clients, Connection and Cash Flow!” just fill out the form below.
