As the calendar turns to December, many are immersed in the festive spirit or engaged in last-minute Christmas shopping. However, amidst the joy and celebrations, it’s crucial not to overlook the vital aspect of planning for 2024, particularly when it comes to the growth of your business.

Why Planning for 2024 Is Crucial

Planning lays the groundwork for success, serving as the roadmap that navigates your business from its current state to new heights. Failure to plan could not only impede progress but, in extreme cases, lead to financial setbacks.

Consider planning as the compass for your journey. Imagine two individuals embarking on a road trip from Seattle to New York, one in a modest minivan and the other in a sleek Ferrari. Surprisingly, the vehicle speed becomes inconsequential if there’s no predetermined route. In business terms, even with a powerful metaphorical “Ferrari” at your disposal, without a clear plan, you risk getting lost and falling short of your objectives.

Crafting a Robust Business Plan for 2024

A successful plan begins with a crystal-clear business objective. Avoid vague aspirations and opt for specific, measurable goals, such as achieving £150,000 in revenue by the end of 2024. Break down these objectives into manageable business milestones, enabling you to track progress and adjust strategies accordingly. A well-thought-out business strategy is the final piece of the puzzle, outlining the actionable steps needed to reach your goals.

Implementing Your Plan Effectively: Two Proven Tips

Tip #1 – Review Your Plan Strategically

After drafting your plan, give yourself a breather of at least 24 hours. This allows for a fresh perspective when reviewing, enabling you to identify potential issues. Engage your team or seek external input to refine your plan, making it more robust and realistic. Schedule a consultation with experts, like myself, to elevate your business strategy to new heights.

Tip #2 – Monitor Progress Consistently

Tracking progress is vital. Establish a routine to assess key metrics weekly, whether it’s eCommerce sales, conversions, clicks, or other performance indicators. This regular check-in not only keeps you informed but empowers you to identify and address challenges promptly, ensuring you stay on course.

In Conclusion

The significance of planning for 2024 cannot be overstated. Without a strategic roadmap, your business risks stagnation or even failure. Should you need assistance in turning your ambitious plans into actionable strategies, I’m here to help. Schedule a consultation, and together, let’s propel your business towards unprecedented success in 2024.

It’s a new year, the perfect time to reset your business. Set up some time for these seven activities so that you start 2023 with less mess and more focus on your business goals. 

#1 Make a plan

No surprise with this one; setting goals and mapping out how you will achieve them will give you a solid foundation to help guide you through the year. Without a plan, it can be challenging to be intentional with your time and efforts. 

There are many ways to approach goal setting for your business, and downloading my free e-book would be a good place to start. However, you should have some revenue objectives and a viable plan to achieve them.

# 2 Do a website review.

If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that a lot can change in a year. But think about what has changed in your business in the last year. Is your website up-to-date with your current services/pricing and branding message?

Other things to check:-

• Links: Do all the links on your website work, especially your social media ones? It is so annoying for customers if they don’t
• Sidebar and header items: Are they still relevant and promoting your most successful services and products
• Blog categories: Are they still appropriate, and are all your posts categorised correctly?
• Buttons: Do all your buttons lead to the correct pages, and are all forms on your site working correctly 
• Pages: Are they all up-to-date (the new year is often an excellent time to be also looking at your pricing and if anything needs to change to remain profitable).
• Plug-Ins: Make sure your plugins are up-to-date
• Testimonials: Do you have any new ones to add to your website? 

Like your website, you should also review whether your social media accounts are all up to date. Make sure all the information is up to date, including any new professional headshots and check your pinned articles are not dated.

Finally, check your Google page and any listings on sites such as ‘Yell’ to ensure a consistent online presence.

#3 Tidy up your files!

The beginning of the new year is the perfect time to get your files tidied up and organised. Your folders and files should be organised so that it is easy to find things. Get rid of any documents you no longer need or that your GDPR/privacy policy states you should no longer be holding. Take time to back up all your files and data to a cloud or an external drive (although, ideally, this is something you should be doing monthly anyway).

#4 Clear out your email lists.

Your email marketing lists need a regular clearout. This should be a minimum of a yearly review, but I recommend doing this quarterly.  

Review all your email automation to make sure a) they still work and b) they are up to date and appropriate. Recheck any links (especially if you make changes to your website) and ensure that the graphics align with your branding strategy. If you have many different emails going out, plan to do this in phases (maybe once a week starting|beginning with your welcome sequence). 

Do you have a lot of cold subscribers, the ones who never open your emails? It’s time to face the truth; they are not interested, so ditch them and focus on interested customers. 

#5 Make your inbox a happy place.

A clear inbox will undoubtedly help you kick the year off right. Do away with newsletters you have saved but have yet to get around to reading (if you wanted to read them, you would have!). Unsubscribe from newsletters you don’t save for later, they are just filling your inbox with ‘junk’.

Just like tidying up your PC folders and files, organise your inbox folders to ensure you can easily find everything. Again delete anything you should no longer be kept under GDPR or your document retention policy.

I recommend scheduling some time (Friday afternoon, maybe) to have a quick email tidy-up. That way, things never get too out of control.

#6 Conduct a tools audit.

Are you paying for tools or services you are no lower using? In the current economic climate, every penny costs, so you want to avoid paying for a higher service package when a lower one gives you everything you use. 

Are your tools the best solutions for your business? Technology is constantly evolving. If you signed up for a tool a couple of years ago, new technology might offer you more for less.

Another top tip is to set reminders about a month before your tools renew if you are on an annual subscription. That gives you time to research to see if other (cheaper/most effective) tools exist. Plus, it gives you time to cancel if you aren’t using the tool anymore.

#7 Reset your content calendar

Content creation can take up a small business owner’s time. So, think about how to work strategically by re-purposing previous content or resources.

If you don’t currently have a system for your content creation, start one asap. I use Trello to manage my content. Each card is a post or potential post, so I can see what I have completed, what is still in draft and what I have used before that could easily be re-purposed. 

Bonus tip to help you reset your business for 2023

Eat the frog

You know the thing you keep saying you will do but never get around to it (for me, it’s my yearly accounts). If you have had something that keeps coming up on your to-do list, why not start the new year by eating the frog and getting it done?

It’s December which means it’s nearly the end of the year. Some of us currently do last-minute Christmas shopping, while others work tirelessly on our business. While I don’t want to ruin your festivities, make sure not to forget about your business and your planning for 2023!

That’s because the next year could be your chance to grow your business to new heights. However, that can be a difficult task to do. So if that sounds like something you’re struggling with, keep reading.

Why Planning for 2023 Is Essential For Every Small Business

If you don’t plan your next steps, you’ll never reach your desired heights. Even worse, you could go bankrupt.

Think about planning like this. Two people want to go from Seattle to New York. One of them has an old banger minivan, while the other has a Ferrari. Which would get to their destination faster if there were no speed limit? You’d say, Ferrari, right?

Wrong!

The thing is, it doesn’t matter how fast your car is. What matters is if you have your travel route set out. You could be in a Ferrari and drive as fast as possible, but you’re not guaranteed to get there – you could get lost if you don’t have a map.

And the same goes for your business! If you haven’t started your planning for 2023, you won’t even have a chance to get close to your business objectives!

What Makes a Good Business Plan

So how do you create a great plan? That mostly depends on you and your business, but here are some things you should have in your 2023 plan:

•  Your Business Objective – That’s the most critical step. You cannot create a plan if you don’t know where you want to go. But when choosing your goal, don’t make it vague, like “I want more sales this year.” Instead, make it specific, like “I want £150,000 by the end of 2023”.
• Business Milestones – To reach your business goal, you must cut your objectives into multiple milestones. That helps you to see if you’re on track with your plan.
• Business Strategy – Writing down goals and milestones is one thing. The other thing is figuring out what to do to get there. That is one of the most challenging planning tasks, so if you need it, get someone to help.

If your plan incorporates these three aspects, you can be assured that your business plan is better than the average one.

2 Tips That Help You Succeed in Implementing

By now, you should have a better-than-average business plan. That’s great, but if you want to ensure your plan succeeds, I have two tips for you to help ensure that you get results.

Tip #1 – Review Your Plan After a Few Days

Once you’ve completed your plan, I suggest you leave it aside for at least 24 hours. That will help you freshen up your mind and find any problems with your plan. Once you’ve taken a considerable time gap, it’s time to review it again.

 Look through everything and brainstorm anything that could go wrong, and do your edits. If you can, make sure to get others involved with it. For example, discussing the plan with your team can help you set more realistic expectations. Also, you could schedule a consultation call with me so that we can revise your business plan together.

Tip #2 – Track your progress weekly

One of the worst mistakes most small business owners make with planning is not having a way to monitor their progress. If you don’t track it, you’ll never know if you’re actually moving the needle.

 So find some data you can track. For example, if you’re an eCommerce business, and your goal is to get a certain amount of sales, try monitoring your add-to-carts, conversions, clicks, and other vital metrics. Then every week, look through your data and find solutions to your problems to get back on track.

Conclusion

And that’s why planning for 2023 is so important. Without planning, your business will either stay where it is or fail. And if you need any help with your ambitious plans, then I’d love to help you out. Just schedule a call with me, and let’s see how we can grow your business.