[00:00:00] Welcome back to another episode of success in mind. As this year begins to wind down. Many people are going to be talking about setting your goals for 2025. And we are going to do that as well here. Don't you worry about that? But before we can. Look at. The next year. I think it's important to reflect on this current year. And, you know, it's not just about looking at your numbers.
It's about understanding what moved the needle for you this year. What didn't. And how to set yourself up for success in the coming year.
You're listening to Success in Mind, the show for high performing leaders, changemakers, and entrepreneurs ready to take your life and business to the next level. If you're ready for whole life success, keep listening.
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Back to our show.
Let's start with why reflection matters. So often as business owners, we are moving at lightning speed. Always looking ahead, looking towards the next thing and. Here's the thing. The most successful business owners that I know. Make time to step back and reflect. And they treat this like a vital business practice, not just a nice to have. It's not just nice to be able to reflect back, but they take this just as seriously as looking ahead at their next year and setting their course for growth.
Think about it like this. If you're on a road trip. You occasionally need to check your map and make sure you are still going in the right [00:03:00] direction. Your year end reflection of your business is like your GPS system.
So let's dive in to the first area of reflection. First, we need to talk about your numbers. But we're going to look at them a little differently. Instead of just asking, did we hit our targets this year? Ask yourself. What's the story behind these numbers?
Which investments really paid off. Where did we spend money that didn't bring any value?
And here's a question that I love. If I had to double my prices tomorrow. What would, I need to change about my services to justify that.
This question alone can reveal so much about your value proposition.
Now let's talk about your customers, your current clients. You know, beyond the satisfaction scores or your [00:04:00] retention rates. Ask yourself. Who are my favorite clients that I worked with this year? And why.
What patterns do I see in the feedback that I've received from clients?
Which clients left us. And what's the real story there.
I worked with a business owner recently who discovered that her most profitable clients. All came from a niche that she wasn't even targeting. And that's the kind of insight that can change your entire strategy.
So it's important to take a look at these things because it might reveal to you. Opportunities in your business that maybe you're not even aware of right now.
Okay, now let's move on to your team. Whether you have two employees or 20. This is crucial to consider. What were our best moments as a team this year?
[00:05:00] Where did we struggle to communicate?
Who has really stepped up and how can I support their growth?
Now here's a challenging one. If you have a larger team, ask yourself. If I could only keep three team members, who would they be and why? Now I'm not suggesting that you downsize and start cutting out team members. But this question can reveal a lot about who is truly essential to your business.
And now for the part that many business owners skip. Personal reflection.
Now, yes, your business might be doing well, but are you doing well within the business? So ask yourself the following. Am I still excited to come to work? What parts of my role drained my energy.
Where am I spending my time that someone else could handle. And this could give you so [00:06:00] much insight into where you can be delegating things to your team or where you might need to build a team. And maybe it's time for you to start letting go of some of those tasks that drain your energy. And that someone else could be doing. Your business should be here to serve your life.
Not the other way around. And if you're not taking time to ask yourself these important questions and to reflect on them. You might just wake up one day running a successful business that makes you miserable. None of us want that. In fact, I don't think that any entrepreneurs starts a business because they want to be miserable. So that's why it's so important to reflect on your own. Growth within the business and on your role within the business.
Okay. Now let's talk about innovation and growth. Not just what new products or services you might add, but the deeper questions. Like what industry changes [00:07:00] are we ignoring? What would our competitors say is our weakness.
What would we do differently if we started the business today?
Now these questions might make you feel a little uncomfortable and that's good growth lies outside of our comfort zone. So it's okay. If some of these questions challenge you or force you to think a little differently. In fact, it's kind of expected that they would. Now, if you think back to a couple episodes, when I had Yahel Demeter on the show and he talked about innovation and I would suggest that when you're done listening to this one, If you haven't listened to that episode yet. Go back and listen to how you held talks about innovation in regards to differentiation. And if you have already listened to it, just go back and listen to that section again, it will help you think in terms of your innovation and your growth.
Okay. So now that we have reflected over the past year, [00:08:00] Let's look ahead. But instead of just setting goals, ask yourself. What problems do I never want to face again?
What opportunities am I most excited about? What would make next year feel like a success.
Now the key here is to be honest with yourself. I don't set goals because you think you should set them because they align with your vision. And in order for it to align with your vision, you need to first have a vision. So going through these questions, what problems do I never want to face again? What opportunities. I excited about what would make next year, feel like a success.
Helped to form that vision of where are you going?
What is it that you really want for the business next year?
And once you have that vision, now you can set some goals and align your vision with your goals.
So here's how to make this reflection [00:09:00] practical. Block out a full day for this? Yes, a full entire day. Away from your business. Bring these questions at a notebook and an open mind. No phone, no email, just focused reflection time.
And some of you hearing that might be feeling a little scared right now, but I promise you, this is the best thing you can do for your business.
You might even want to go somewhere, like take a weekend retreat for yourself, a little CEO retreat. Book yourself into a nice Airbnb or a hotel. Lock yourself in and get to work on your business and your vision.
Do the summer inspiring. Not in your office. Some of my best business insights have come well, sitting at a coffee shop or going for a walk in nature. You don't have to go away on a luxury weekend. If you don't want to, you could just do this [00:10:00] in one of your favorite settings, your favorite coffee shop, go for a walk. Sit in a park for awhile.
I mean, assuming that it's not freezing cold, where you are go sit in a park. Put yourself into a different environment where you can relax and focus. And where you're not going to be distracted by the day-to-day operations of your business or your home life.
Now what's important to remember here is that reflection.
Isn't just about looking back. It's about looking forward with wisdom. Every success and failure from this past year is a lesson that can make next year better.
So before we wrap up today, here is your homework schedule your reflection day right now, not next week, not when things slow down now. Your business deserves this investment of time. And think of it this way. If you can't invest a day into your business, [00:11:00] vision and your growth. Then you need to invest a day into your business, vision and your growth.
Otherwise. You're gonna run into issues. And a big red flag is when I hear a business owner say, I cannot take a day out of the business. Uh, to work on the business. If you can't take a day out of your business to work on your business, you are in trouble. My friend. So please. Take me seriously when I say. You need to take time out. To reflect on this past year and start setting your course for 2025. That's it for today's episode. I hope you found it helpful. Remembered nothing happens without action. So make sure you take action on this. If you want, there's a PDF download that you can get in the show notes and it will guide you through not just the questions we went through today, but a much more in-depth version of this reflection. Some of them, you might not find applicable to your business.
For [00:12:00] example, if you don't have a team yet, then. The team questions aren't really going to apply to you. Except maybe to help you start thinking about how you will build out a team. One day. Maybe sooner than you think.
Come back again. Later this week, I will be joined by Dylan Evans. Who's going to talk to us all about cybersecurity and he's going to dispel a lot of myths for us around cybersecurity and tell us how we can protect our businesses. It's to make sure you come back for that. And until then, keep growing, keep learning. And reflecting.
And of course, if you enjoyed this episode, Write a review rate, the show. Share it with a friend who needs to listen to this. And until then, Bye for now. My friends.
