How to Organize Your Business For Success in the New Year
It’s that time of year again and you know what that means, right?! It’s time to learn how to organize your business for success in the New Year! Who’s ready?
Ok. I won’t start this article off with the all “it’s time for a New Year New You!”
You know that’s what this time of year is all about.
I don’t believe that each New Year has to be about a “New You,” because I strongly believe that we each grow tremendously throughout every year even if it feels like nothing much has changed.
Some changes just aren’t tangible. The most important changes are what happens internally – how your confidence shifts, what you learn, the clarity you get around yourself and what you want for you life.
How I like to think of the New Year is as a great time for a check-in or a refresh, kind of like we feel the first day of a new week or new month. In a way it’s a clean slate. What’s happened has happened and now we get to take what we’ve experienced so far and move forward. It’s the moment you get to decide if you are on the right path or need to make some tweaks. It’s the perfect time to check in and reset your goals, and your approach to your life and business.
This is where you get to tap into where you are now, where you desire to be, and decide what thoughts, beliefs, habits and actions you need to shift, change, and adopt to reach those new beautiful goals.
In this article, we are going to focus on your goals as a small business owner. I know you have a vision for your business and how you would like it to run, how you envision your business as a part of your life.
We are going to focus on how to organize your business and prepare for business success in the New Year with 8 simple steps.
Nothing feels better than walking into the New Year with the clarity, confidence and strategy that will make it ease-ful to take action and KNOW it will lead you where you desire to go.
At the end of this article after you have implemented each step, you will feel READY to get started, have a clear path ahead, and will no longer second guess what to do next or what to focus on.
Let’s get started!
1. Reflect on the Past Year
Sometimes it can feel pointless to reflect on the past year, especially if you feel like it didn’t get you to where you desire to go. I get it. Been there, plenty of times!
BUT…
It can be eye opening on why we didn’t hit our goals, or what other things happened that were awesome, or how we changed our minds along the way.
This past year, my pup past away and I didn’t put as much focus into my business. A few weeks ago, I felt bummed that my business didn’t really go anywhere, but then I reflected on this past year and realized I spent time healing, by pausing I had the space to be honest about what I didn’t like about my business, how I wanted to do it differently, and how I’m not creating it in a way that aligns with my vision.
And, I put those efforts in place already and my new marketing strategy is getting attention.
If I didn’t take the time to reflect on it, I wouldn’t have seen that a few steps back, gave me more freedom to catapult forward in a more exciting and fun way of running my business.
Here are three powerful questions to ask yourself:
Review Wins and Lessons You Learned Along the Way:
Take some time to highlight your achievements and key growth moments. What were things you got to celebrate? What worked well? What felt good for you? What unexpected surprises (good) happened this year? What AHA moments did you have in your business that gave you clarity and confidence?
Identify Setbacks and Challenges:
I get it, not everything goes your way. Every road to a heart-felt goal and dream has its road bumps. These hiccups are also moments where we learn so much about ourselves and open our eyes to new levels of clarity. It also tests your resilience. It challenges you to question if this is really what you want to work towards, or if it isn’t worth the struggle. Reflect on what set-backs presented themselves to you. Think about the knowledge, skills, experiences you used to overcome the setbacks. Acknowledge how YOU managed to work through it and come out the other side, as uncomfortable as it may have been. Ask yourself what challenges challenged you the most and how you can avoid them in the future.
Also, reflect on how your mindset held you back this year. What fears and limiting beliefs took a bit more of the driver’s seat than you would’ve liked? Where did your fears, doubts, and beliefs hold you back the most? Which of those do you want to focus on next year to shift to more of an empowerful belief?
These questions help you see how obstacles, though frustrating, also ignite your confidence and show you what you are truly capable of.
Set Your Mindset for Success:
Finally, take a moment to look at all you wrote down and acknowledge how all of these moments of growth, progress, and confidence boosting experiences will help you next year. What have they prepared you for in your next steps in your business adventure?
In order to organize your business for the new year, you have to acknowledge the foundation you’ve already created that will prepare you for all that is coming next. The most powerful belief you can have moving into the new year is that you are PREPARED and READY for your next level success!
2. Set Clear Goals for the Year Ahead
Let’s get to the OBVIOUS part of preparing your business for the New Year – Your vision and big new goals.
Vision and Big Picture Goals:
Your goals are your GPS. You have to put in a very specific destination in order to find the perfectly aligned route to get there. You can’t be vague. You have to be specific. You have to have clear goals for what you want next year. You have to know what it looks and feels like.
It’s not just about wanting to make a certain amount of money. It’s envisioning how you are going to bring in that revenue, what activities you do everyday, who are your clients, how many hours a week do you work? What is your work.life balance? How is your business organized, what systems do you want in place, how do you spend your time? Where do you work? What do you wear when you work? Why do you want that specific amount of revenue? What offers are you selling to get there? What does your business make you feel everyday? WHat does it look like on December 31st next year?
All these pieces of your vision help you identify the roadmap to get to that vision.
Here is my one rule when reflecting on your vision, don’t include any limitations or beliefs on what you are capable of or what you think it SHOULD look like. Just let it flow out of you.
Break Down Annual Goals into Quarterly Milestones:
Next, we create the roadmap. It can feel daunting when you look at your vision. “How will you ever get there?” This is where you break it down one step at a time. Start with looking at your big vision and identify the big yearly goals and your business strategy. This is where you take those big goals and make sure they are smart goals. Then you create your strategic plan.
The first step is to write down 6 goals you want to hit. Maybe it’s 52 podcast episodes for the year or blog posts, maybe it’s invite in 5 new clients into a specific offer or increase your email list to 2500 subscribers. What are 6 of the most important goals for you?
Then, you are going to think about the four quarters of the year and break down those goals into quarters. First, make them into SMART goals that are measurable, have a timeline, and are doable. Take each of those SMART goals and then think about what milestones you need to hit to get to that bigger goal at the end of the year. It’ll feel less daunting when you only have to focus on smaller steps per quarter.
Then you can take some time to break down those goals by month, so once again breaking the down into smaller goals.
One of the key ways to organize your business is by quarters instead of by focusing on the entire year. It’ll feel more doable. You can stay super focused on a few tasks, it’ll help you stay consistent, and won’t feel overwhelming.
Create a Plan for Accountability:
The most important part is to find a way to stay accountable and focused on your goals. A lot can happen, especially obstacles and roadblocks that may trip you up along the way. This is where using a quarterly and daily planner and setting aside each day to check in with it, plus finding a accountability partners or a coach to keep you accountable and help you work though the challenges, will help you stay on track and progressing forward.
3. Organize Your Finances
Review Last Year’s Financials:
Ok. I know financials can bring up all kinds of emotions, fears, and icky feelings, especially when you are new to business, but, once again, knowing the truth will help you set a more realistic revenue goal in the upcoming year, and also help you reassess what is or isn’t working. It may open your eyes to what you need to pivot to. Maybe you realize that a specific offer brought in most of your revenue….well, maybe that is where you focus more attention in the New Year.
Also, reviewing your expenses will help you see if maybe you need to make some changes to your systems (more about that later.)
Pull your reports and then grab your journal and start reflecting on what came up. Ask yourself how it felt. Were there things you are celebrating with what you see? Were there surprises? What is your report telling you?
Set a Budget and Financial Goals:
Now it’s time to think of next year. You have an idea of what your efforts brought you this year. Start mapping out the receive you’d like to bring in each month. Think about what offers you’d have to put into the world. Where would that revenue come from? What would you have to do to reach that revenue goal?
Then, think about your expenses. What is necessary. Where will you spend your money? Are there ways you are going to cut expenses? Decide what tracking tool you will use to track your expenses and revenue next year. Is it a simple spreadsheet? Is it a system that you subscribe to? Is it Quickbooks? Commit to finding a way to track your revenue and expenses so they are easy to review each week.
Separate Personal and Business Finances:
One big thing to ensure is that you are separating your personal and business expenses so they are easy to manage. This will help when it comes to tax time. It’ll help give you a clear picture of your profits and expenses. Even if you are sole proprietor, try to open a business bank account separate from your personal one and be diligent about keeping track of your revenue and receipts.
Knowing your financials and having financial goals will help you stay on track, motivated, and help you create a roadmap each month in your business.
4. Streamline Your Operations and Systems
If you want to feel organized in your business, you need to create systems that feel organized to you. Systems are unique to everyone. It has to feel good and easeful to you. It can’t feel overwhelming, or not make sense. Every business is completely different, every business vision is completely different as well. You get to choose what will feel good for you. There are countless ways to organize your business, so be open to seeing what will work for you.
I will say this. How you design and run your business will impact your confidence and level of overwhelm. That is why you have to find what works for you and helps you feel like you CAN have a thriving and successful business.
Evaluate and Refresh Your Tools:
Start off at looking at what you currently have in place. What project management systems are you using (Google sheets, Trello, Asana?) What do you currently use for bookkeeping or what system are you using to track clients (a CRM system, Spreadsheet)?
Ask yourself: Are these systems working for me? Am I utilizing them fully? Do they work for the way I like to work? Are they convenient? Is there something that would work better for me. Think about upgrades, but also if you need to use them at all!
Automate Where Possible:
Automation can be scary, but it can definitely create ease and help bring in more and more potential customers, email subscribers, etc. I know for me, for the longest time, it felt like I was losing human connection by automating. Then I realized I am only one person and I want to be able to help as many people as possible! And I can’t possibly be in more than one place at a time.
So, today, reflect on your systems. Are you currently automating any areas of your business? If not, where would you like to add automation in the New Year? Think of your marketing systems, email list, client communication, finances, payment systems, freebies, invoices. What would bring you more ease? What 1-2 systems can you fin tune or add to your business this year that will create more ease and help you hit your goals.
Organize Your Digital Space:
I love this tip. Nothing feels better than cleaning up your digital files and determining what to keep and what to delete. This is where you get to decide where/how you want to organize your files and important documents, email, etc. Set aside time to clear out your inbox, unsubscribe from emails that no longer serve you or that you’re interested in. Go through any paper clutter, invest in any filing cabinets or filiing systems you may need. Clean out your downloads file and file away things you want to keep. Choose where you will store your business files – dropbox, google drive, hard drive?
Finally, think of things that you will need to update regularly. Maybe once a month you set aside time to update your website, review your email automations, clean out your emails, go through your files, review your finances, file away expense receipts. Get out your calendar and start to schedule it in.
Also, don’t forget about your office space! Make sure it is organized in a way that feels good for you, that it’s not cluttered and it feels like a good space to work in.
5. Revamp Your Marketing Strategy
Earlier this year, as I took time off social media and slowed down in my business to grieve the loss of my sweet pup, I gave myself permission to be honest about how I was marketing my business. I realized my marketing was so out of alignment with my vision for my business, for how I shared my knowledge, with where my skills are and my passions.
I stepped away from making social media my primary place of marketing and shifted to creating an online magazine type blog. And it felt so energizing!
When I thought about who I wanted to help, how I wanted to help them, how I enjoyed creating content, social media wasn’t it. But, writing articles, using Pinterest, learning SEO, lit me up and felt so ease-ful. I look forward to my coffeeshop dates where I write my articles (like I’m doing right now!) You get to do it your way. You get to change your mind and find a new way, or double down and go all in on what you are currently doing.
Here’s three tips for reflecting on and revamping your marketing:
Analyze What Worked and What Didn’t:
Not all strategies work. And that’s ok. You may also have to give some marketing efforts time to yield results. This is where having an honest look at what you have been focusing on in marketing – metrics, insights, where your email subscribers are coming from, where your clients are coming from – is so important. Look at your email list, social media, podcast, blog, or guest appearances, media, and see how it has impacted your business.
What was most effective? What was least effective?
I side note to this, is to also look at what you’ve enjoyed doing. Yes, you might not YET see the results, but if you absolutely love a specific way to market, show up, and get visible, be honest about that. And be honest about what you DON’T like doing as well.
Then, looking at all of that…determine what marketing strategy you will focus on next year. It can be more than one, but I would suggest starting with one, going all in for at least 90 days, and then building from there. That will help you figure out what works for you, how to schedule your content creation, tweak, and improve. Then stack on another marketing medium in the next quarter.
Plan Your Content in Advance:
Now, let’s get planning. This may take time, but sit down and come up with a content calendar. Think about your offers, your business revenue goals, how many clients you want to work with or customers you want to attract each month. Then grab a calendar and start mapping out the types of content you will create – emails, social posts, podcasts, blogs. Map out what topics you will focus on, calls to action, selling versus educational vs relatable stories. Having it mapped out will help reduce the overwhelm over the year and keep you on track.
Engage with Your Ideal Client:
Use this time to plan ways you will ENGAGE with your audience throughout the year. It’s not all about content creation and sales. Relationship building is invaluable as part of your business. How will you build engagement with your audience? Will you create a community, engage on social media, offer free calls, offer free masterclasses, or free coffee chats? How can you go the extra mile in engaging with your target audience?
Also, how will you attract new customers – posting on Pinterest, being a guest on podcasts, social media ads, creating free downloads, maximizing SEO to your website and Pinterest?
6. Focus on Personal Development
Set a Growth Mindset:
In order to grow into the next-level success and goals in your business, you need to lead with a growth mindset. This means approaching your business knowing that every action, every outcome, every step forward is either teaching you something or leading you to where you desire to be. If you feel like you might lean more towards a lack mindset (which is totally human to do!), check out this article that will help you develop a more abundant mindset: 6 Ways to shift from scarcity to abundance mindset.
When you can lead with a desire to grow, challenge yourself, learn new things, go for the next level goal, you start to build more confidence, become resilient, and learn invaluable skills that will help you try new things, go the long haul, and show up everyday.
Build Confidence through Small Wins:
Now’s the time to create a ritual of celebrating small wins along the way. It is easy to focus on what isn’t going right or how far you still have to go to get to where you desire to be, but those thoughts only bring you down, zap your confidence, and leave you feeling defeated. When you can practice celebrating even the smallest wins – completing a new blog post, having one more person join your email list, selling one $15 product, you automatically train your brain to see that you ARE a success, create evidence that it IS working out, and that YOU can do it!
One of the best ways to start to build this practice is to turn those big goals into monthly, weekly, and daily actions. Then celebrate when you hit that week’s goals or that month’s goals. Decide in advance how you will celebrate – pop champagne, get your nails done, take a day off, treat yourself to a new handbag.
Invest in Learning:
Part of the 7 powerful daily habits for entrepreneur success is intentional learning. Your business is you. You are your business. You have to invest in YOURSELF to grow your business. You have to invest in your mindset, your skills, your perspectives, your beliefs.
As you think about your business goals for next year, your time management, your growth, sit down and brainstorm all the courses, books, podcasts, skills you want to invest your time and energy in. Think about who you want to learn from or work with or coaching you want to invest in. Then sit down with your calendar and map out when you will do these things. Put them in your calendar so that they become part of your daily/weekly actions for the year.
7. Create a Schedule to Protect Your Time
Establish Boundaries and Routine:
Another part of the 7 powerful daily habits for entrepreneur success is managing your time. If you want a organized business, you need to find the best time management techniques for you. This could be time blocking, setting routines, using your google calendar, using a paper calendar working using the pomodoro style. Whatever you use to schedule and organize your time, make sure you are setting clear work/life boundaries. Make sure you decide how many hours you are going to work on your business each week. Set aside those times on your calendar. Then ensure you are scheduling in your self-care, your leisure time, time for hobbies, family and friends. Even think about your whole year and start scheduling in your vacation time and decide how you will run your business during different seasons or in the holiday season.
Use Time-Blocking and Planning:
Time blocking is a great way to be specific and intentional about your time so that you avoid burn-out, know where your time is going, being intentional on the actions you are focusing on. You can use your Google Calendar, a spreadsheet, an app. Whatever is best for you.
8. Prepare for Growth with Flexibility
Be Open to Change:
Life is going to happen. Hiccups in your plans will come up along the way. That is why having a plan ahead of time, creating systems, and focusing on quarterly goals instead of just your overall yearly goal are so important. You may learn new things that bring some clarity around what you really want, you might change your mind, you might realize something isn’t working, you might realize something else is working better. Don’t be afraid to pivot, change course, or decide on something else completely.
When my pup passed away, I needed space to grieve and find my footing again. That meant putting my goals on hold, revisiting what was important to me, actually reflecting on how I was running my business was even working for me. In the end, the pivot I’ve made has been great for what I want for my business, who I am as a person right now, and where I am in my life right now. If I didn’t take time to reflect, I may have stayed on a hamster wheel that felt draining and soul-sucking instead. And who wants that?!
Regular Check-Ins and Adjustments:
This is why check-in on a regular basis is so important – being aware of your finances, reflecting on what isn’t working, what is working, if you are enjoying the process, the results, and your business. Make it a habit (put it in your calendar!) to do monthly and quarterly check-ins. Set a routine for quarterly reviews to ensure they stay aligned with goals.
(In the BECOMING Quarterly Journal and Planner, you’ll find daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly reflection pages to help you check-in, so you can stay aligned to what feels good for you.)
Conclusion and Next Steps:
It may seem like a lot to do to organize your business before the start of a new year, BUT the best prepping upfront will give you the time, energy, and clarity to create new habits, be consistent and avoid overwhelm and burnout.
To help you get started, here are some tools to help you stay organized in your business in the new year:
BECOMING Quarterly Planner and Journal (This will be a game changer!)
Daily Habit Tracker for Entrepreneur Success
Freedom Masterclass (My most popular masterclass to date!)
AND…If you would like help organizing your business and mindset for the New Year, plus accountability and strategic planning, check out BREAKTHOUGH or sign up for a free 30 minute momentum call today.
It’s time to stop sitting on the sidelines and start seeing the results you desire!
