Last week we celebrated a number of spring holidays here in the US, including Easter, Passover and Earth Day. I hope you enjoyed whatever you celebrate. My husband Adam and I had fun hosting a Passover Seder on Monday, digging in the dirt for Earth Day and greeting the Easter Bunny on Sunday. I guess we’re pretty all-inclusive and like to celebrate!
On to biz…. once a quarter or with every change of season, it’s important to set aside some time and evaluate how you are progressing with your business objectives.
If you are like most people, you set your intentions and goals in the beginning of the year. That’s great! The next step is to revisit them quarterly to determine if you are on track. This is important so you can course correct if necessary.
Here are the key areas to address in your quarterly business check-up:
1. Reconnect with your intentions, goals and objectives for the year.
Hopefully you wrote down your goals and intentions in the beginning of the year. Take a minute now and reconnect with those. You might need to look in your journal, coaching notes, or business planner as a reminder of what you wanted to achieve this year.
2. Identify your accomplishments.
What have you achieved and accomplished so far this year?
This is so important! Most people don’t do this. Instead we tend to put all of our attention on what isn’t working. (And we’ll get to that in a minute, but for now, let’s focus on what you did right!)
Let’s face it… if you are like 99% of people, you are probably not as far along with your annual intentions and goals as you’d like. That’s okay. It’s very common, especially for coaches, to think and dream big. Which is GREAT. But the downside is if we don’t achieve what we hoped, in the timeframe we expected, it’s easy to get discouraged.
Don’t let this happen to you!
Take the time to list out all of your accomplishments so far this year. No achievement is too small to acknowledge.
3. Now that you’ve acknowledged your achievements, it’s time to identify the areas of your business that don’t look the way you’d like them to.
Are you on track to achieve your annual revenue goal?
Are you moving forward with your important big projects?
Are you coaching your ideal number of clients?
At this stage it’s most important to do a realistic assessment without beating yourself up. There is still plenty of time this year to kick it into high gear.
Be honest with yourself and identify the areas of your business that need more attention. No judgement, just an accurate assessment.
4. Next, ask yourself how committed you are to achieving success in the areas of your business that are not looking the way you want them to.
This is really important. Your commitment and desire are absolutely critical for moving forward.
Review the areas of your business that need attention and on a scale of 1-10, identify how committed you are to achieving success in each area.
10 = You are totally committed.
1 = It is no longer a priority for you.
It’s good to take things off of your list that no longer serve you or aren’t a priority anymore. This allows you to really focus on what is most important.
5. Identify your top 3 areas of focus and determine what type of support, systems or infrastructure you need to put in place to achieve your goals in this area.
This is CRITICAL! Too often we tell ourselves we’ll “try harder.” Trying harder rarely works. Adopting a more effective strategy, creating a more supportive environment, hiring a top-notch coach, getting some external deadlines… those types of things work.
Identify the external structures that will support you in achieving your goals. Don’t rely on willpower. Make it easier on yourself and create an environment supports you.
6. Finally, determine 3 specific actions you will take to move your business forward. Write out your actions and specify when you’ll complete them by. Share your commitment with your coach or accountability partner. If you don’t have a business coach or accountability that should probably be one of your 3 actions J.
Great Jane! I highly recommend all 3 of your items. Getting the right support is KEY for taking your business to the next level. Rock on!
HI Michelle
I found your approach really useful as I veer between self belief and fear! Reconnecting with my goals was very grounding, especially when I looked at the things I have already done to move towards them. Of course there's still plenty to do, but that is starting to feel ok, too…
Over the next 90 days I have committed to 3 things:
1. To create an editorial schedule and embed it in my diary so there is a consistency about my articles, blogging, tweets, newsletter etc. This is really about creating and sticking to a new habit. It will help me to feel like a 'real business' to have this in place.
2. To include a regular slot every week in my diary for product development so that I am ready to launch by the end of the 90 days (I am using Milana Leshinsky's tried and tested approach)
3. To decide what type of business support I need from a 'Girl Friday' or VA, and to cost up the options so that I am ready to go for it by the end of the 90 days. This will also build my beleif that I am running my business in a professional manner.