Three Simple Steps for Planning Next Year

Whether you own a business, run a business or work for a business, it’s in your best interest to plan for the coming year. I’m always amazed by how many people don’t take the time to plan. It takes a little work, but it has huge dividends.

I’m sure you’ve all heard the old cliché, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Is it true that you’ll for sure fail without a plan? No, but failing to plan greatly increases your chances of not being as successful as you could be.

You owe it to yourself. Follow the three simple steps outlined in this article and you’ll start the New Year on a positive note.

Step 1. Thoroughly analyze last year and how it got you to where you are now. Wherever we are at any point in our lives is always the result of our past decisions and our past actions. So, when you’re taking an honest look at last year (honest being the key word) start with the results you achieved. The following are a few questions you should ask.

How much money did you earn?
How much did you get to keep?
How much did you invest for the future?
How much did you give back to your community and other worthwhile causes?
How many customers did you gain or lose?
How many products and services did you sell?
How did you market what you do?
How did you measure the results of your marketing efforts?
Were you happy with the results?

Don’t stop here. Ask as many questions as you can think of that will give you the answers you need to create a complete picture of your current situation and how it was achieved. If you get bogged down in the process, walk away from it for a while. If it makes sense, ask others that you trust if they can think of any questions that you might have missed.

Once you’re satisfied that you have asked and answered all the appropriate questions take some time to study the result you have worked so hard to complete.

Are you happy with what you’ve accomplished to this point?
Is there room for improvement?
Do you want to have a better year next year?

How many of the following areas do you want to improve?

» Revenue earned?
» Profits?
» Personal income?
» Charitable contributions?
» Business and personal investments?
» Relationships with co-workers, customers, vendors, family, friends?
» Personal health and fitness?
» Number of customers or clients?
» Quality of customers or clients?
» Amount of personal time?
» Number of employees?
» Quality of employees?
» Anything else?

Once you start answering these questions, you have moved to...

Step 2. What do I want my business or career to look like at the end of next year? Now’s the time to answer all the same questions you asked and answered in Step 1. This time the answers should be related to what you want rather than what you’ve already accomplished. Assuming, of course, that what you want for next year is different from what you achieved this year.

Take you time. Be honest and thorough. The main criteria in considering your answers should be whether or not you believe them to be real and achievable. For example, if your gross revenues were $200,000 this year and you want your gross revenues to be $10,000,000 next year, do you really believe it’s possible? It might very well be depending on a number of factors. There’s nothing wrong with goals that make you stretch a bit, but pie-in-the-sky wishes don’t help. As a matter of fact they can hurt.

When you have good, solid answers to all the questions as they relate to what you want to achieve next it's time to move on to...

Step 3. What do I need to do to get from where I am now to where I want to be next year? OK, I didn’t say this was going to be easy. It is simple though. There are only three steps. But, like just about everything in life, doing even the simple things well requires some effort.

Now comes a new set of questions.

Do I need to change my marketing? If so, how?
Do I know what my ideal customer looks like?
Why should they buy from me rather than my competition?
What’s important to them about what I offer from their point of view?
Does my product or service need to be improved? If so, how do I improve it?
Do my employees know and believe in the purpose of my business?
Do they understand and believe in the values that guide the operation of my business?
Do I have the right people working in the business?
Do I have the right people in a place where they can do their best work?
Can I be a better leader and manager?

I’m sure you can come up with more great questions to ask yourself. Keep thinking. Look on the bright side. Once you complete this process the first time you’ll have a template to use in future years. Hang in there. You’ll be happy and proud of the finished product you created.

Once you have created your plan don’t put it aside and forget about it. Follow it. Consult it often. Constantly evaluate it. Look for ways to make it better. Let your employees know that suggestions for improvement are always welcome. Make it happen and have a very successful year – every year!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brian Silverthorn is a writer and a business coach. His specialty is helping people start and grow successful businesses. To learn more please visit www.feedthegoodwolf.com.

NOTE: You're welcome to reproduce this article online or in print as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "About the Author" information at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to bsilverthorn@feedthegoodwolf.com.

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