my yearly review process
The middle of December is my favorite part of the year.
I'm in the middle of my year end review and planning for next year.
During this yearly review, I also go through my calendar to mark myself out for any annual vacations, holidays, school breaks, or birthdays.
My yearly review process is two-fold:
A review of the just finishing year
Planning ahead for the upcoming year
In this post, I'll show you my entire review process.
I've gathered these questions over the years from the yearly reviews of Allie Bjerk, Kate Northrup, Amy Porterfield, and Chris Guillebeau.
My Review Process of the Previous Year
For my past year review, I ask myself two big questions:
>>What went right?
>>What went wrong?
The “What went wrong” question is like a spotlight to help me figure out:
>>What do I need to change in my business?
>>What didn't I like doing?
>>What are my non-negotiables that I've been ignoring (to my peril)?
Inside the past year review, I deep dive with lots of data, including a roundup to summarize my past year.
This roundup has the numbers for all the important life and business trackers I use to make sure I’m on the right path for me.
My previous year data roundup includes:
Books read
Trips
Revenue
Profit
Expenses
Hrs worked total
Hrs worked/month average
List size
Open rate
CTR for emails
# of pitches sent
Twitter followers
LinkedIn followers
Your trackers might be different — and they should be!
Your life and business are not mine and vice versa.
Figure out what numbers make up a healthy life for you and track accordingly.
After I have a comprehensive view on the year just finished, I use that information to determine what worked and what needs to be changed.
To discover that, I ask myself more questions…
…and this is where I find out what went right and wrong in the year.
The questions I answer:
>>My favorite business experience?
>>What felt easy?
>>What felt hard?
>>What do I want to change or fix in my business?
>>What's my biggest & least money maker?
>>Where did I lose money?
>>What brought in the most leads?
>>What do I want to stop doing in my life?
>>What do I want to start doing in my life?
>>What do I want to keep doing in my life?
As a solopreneur who intends to stay a one-person business, my life impacts my business and vice versa.
These questions have brought me the most insight every year. In fact, my answers guide my planning process and focus for the next year.
Which brings us to…
Upcoming Year Planning Process
To plan my next year, I focus on these questions:
>>What’s my list of intentions?
>>What’s my list of 3-4 goals for the year?
>>If everything went better than anticipated, what would have come to pass by Dec. 31?
>>What's required in order to allow the above to happen? Or what changes need to be made?
>>What's the #1 thing I need to focus on next year to make everything else easy or unnecessary?
For the first question, “What’s my list of intentions?” use this question to guide how you want to feel inside your business. How you feel impacts the decisions you make. In fact, your brain cannot make a decision without an emotion triggering it.
For me, I want to feel challenged, unhurried, and evolving in my business.
The last question above is the most valuable one:
What's the #1 thing I need to focus on next year to make everything else easy or unnecessary?
Once I answer that question, I know instantly what I need to focus on for the next year. For 2022, that answer was lead generation to grow my email newsletter list.
Now that I’m clear on what action must happen for the upcoming year, I break down that big goal into tangible next steps, like:
>>What I'll need to create or do to meet that goal
>>Biggest triggers to pull
>>Quarterly sales goals
Sure, you can even set a financial revenue goal for the year.
I’ve done that every year, but frankly, I’ve found it puts a lot of pressure on me as a solopreneur to measure my self-worth against a number.
Which doesn’t help me mentally.
Instead, I set a soft revenue goal number with some boundaries in place, like buffers, to keep the train on the tracks.
For example, my goal for 2023 is to make $200,000 with a 30% profit margin while working 12 hours/week (or less).
Putting in profit margin and time cap means I prioritize what actions will get me closer to that goal. TBH, it helps me say no to opportunities that look shiny, flashy but won’t spark growth in the direction I want.
My intention-setting and planning process helps me close out the year with clarity, while inspiring a focused plan of action to tackle my goals.
I hope my process helps you.
You're amazing,
Laura
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