The Importance of Your Monthly Reviewing and Planning
It’s the beginning of the month-AGAIN. Where does the time go? As solopreneurs and small business owners, it is so easy to work in your…
It’s the beginning of the month-AGAIN. Where does the time go? As solopreneurs and small business owners, it is so easy to work in your business, but not on your business.
When you’re working in your business, you’re doing all of the necessary work to keep the business going: working with clients, completing projects, and the day-in/day-out hustle. You’re busy all right, but are you making actual progress towards your goals? Do you even remember what your goals are?
To work on your business, you will have to change hats and stop being an employee and a worker-bee and start being the CEO and the leader of your company.
You are actually running two businesses at the same time: the business you’re currently in and the business you want to become. When you’re working in your business, you are managing your company the way it is today. When you’re working on your business, you are viewing and revising the “Big Picture” so that you can grow your business for tomorrow.
You can and should do a review and planning session annually and quarterly, but completing a monthly review is helpful because it is the closest to where your business is today and contains the metrics that you can work on immediately. Your monthly review can also be revisited on a weekly basis to help keep you on track.
As a solopreneur, I am responsible for everything that goes on and in my business, but I also have a part-time virtual assistant and a part-time business partner (my husband), so although I first do my monthly review alone, and then I involve those two other important people for their ideas and input.
Even many large companies realize that when doing review and evaluation sessions, it is better to get away from the regular workplace and go elsewhere (pre-CoVID). Being in a different location helps to keep the distractions at bay and opens up the mind to new possibilities.
During my review and evaluation process, I focus on five major areas:
Business Performance Since I keep good up-to-date records through the apps I use to run my business, it is easy for me to evaluate the revenue performance for the previous month, and compare it to my ongoing goals. I can then make adjustments as necessary.
Business Clarity Of course I have written vision and mission statements for my business. I review those and ensure that I am clear that what I am doing, the strategic decisions I am making, and the goals I am setting align with those statements.
Business Development I look at my overall schedule and activities to make sure that I am spending a minimum of 25% of my time (about 1.5 hours per day) on marketing and customer relationship management.
Personal Development As the CEO of my own little company, I am responsible for staying up-to-date only profession and my industry. I ensure that I take the time to participate in workshops, events, and training opportunities. I can only invest in my company after I have invested in myself.
Personal Health and Welfare Exercising regularly, healthy eating, sleeping well, balancing work time with social activities all go a long way to helping you to stay healthy and having the energy and stamina to properly run your company. If you spend so much time working in your business that you neglect to work on yourself, both you and your business will suffer instead of improving.
A monthly review is an opportunity to reflect on all your accomplishments from the previous month and then re-adjust your short- and long-term goals, while planning for the upcoming month is an opportunity for you to assess your current habits, routines, tasks, activities, and daily schedule.
Your monthly review should only take about 1/2 of a day, but it is the most important 1/2day of your entire business month.
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Published By Pamela Hilliard Owens on LinkedIn
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.