Women's Life Link Be Well, Be Happy, Be YOU!
November is here, and the holidays are just around the corner. Depending on the type of business, it could be a busy season for you or time to wind down and de-stress. While you’re either in full power mode or resting, the end of the year is a perfect time to evaluate your business. You may have to do this strategically if you’re really busy, but try to make time to, at least, skim the surface. This can then help you get clarity about your goals and how to achieve them. I’ve listed below several areas of your business to evaluate before the new year is in full swing. I like to do this with colleagues and trusted mentors. It makes it more fun and gives me ideas and focus I wouldn’t get on my own.
Areas of Your Business to Evaluate before the New Year #1: Marketing
Hopefully, you’ve kept track of your marketing campaigns and ventures over the year. If so, you should be able to clearly see what worked and what did not. Did any advertising ventures bring in more sales than others? How did you grow your social media audience and increase clicks on your website?
Be prepared to ask these questions and have answers that will serve your business next year. If you are new to owning a small business, don’t worry, these things will come more easily as you gain experience. Remember, do what works for you and your business. There is no need to do anything that you don’t like or that isn’t you.
Getting Help
In some cases, it might be worth getting help to design a marketing plan for your business. You could hire a business coach or even invest in a comprehensive msp marketing solution. These pros can easily look back at your patterns and see what needs to happen in the coming year. Of course, you will need to weigh out the cost versus the potential benefit.
Areas of Your Business to Evaluate before the New Year #2: Growth or Decline
Every business owner and entrepreneur wants their business to grow, right? There is nothing worse than to see the business success you’ve worked so hard for go downhill. That said, you have to know where you are in order to get where you want to be.
Evaluate all of your sales, clients, profits, and losses for the past year. It may also help to go back to the previous year. I remember feeling really bummed a couple of years ago when I didn’t hit my business goals. However, when I looked at the previous year, I realized that I had more than doubled my income. So, remember, just because you don’t hit a certain number doesn’t mean you have failed. Look at other indicators of success as well. Things like website traffic, social media pages, books sales, etc can really give you an idea of how you’re doing.
Areas of Your Business to Evaluate before the New Year #3: Website and Social Media
Take time to look at how your business is seen online and physically. This means your website and any social media pages and accounts you have. Clean up anything you don’t want potential clients and customers to see. Also, start analyzing the demographics of your site as well as seeing how your domain authority and google ranking is doing. If this all sounds confusing to you, do some research about website traffic, SEO, and conversion. This is also an area that you may need help from a pro.
Areas of Your Business to Evaluate before the New Year #4: Staffing
You may have had a great year as far as sales, but do you have the right people in place to take you even higher? Have you struggled to keep good people on board? If so, it’s time to understand why they keep leaving. Many business owners don’t realize that hiring staff continuously can cost money, so it is ideal to hire right the first time round. Take a look at your current staffing levels and make some changes if needed.
Business to Evaluate before the New Year #5: Next Year’s Goals
Finally, now is the ideal time to evaluate how well you met this year’s goals and set some new ones. Having analyzed your business thoroughly you should have a better handle on what your potential is. Make sure you are setting goals that help you track your business growth as well as motivate you to keep moving forward. Keep them obtainable but also challenging enough that you grow as a businesswoman. Have a wonderful holiday season and a happy new business year!
