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13 key strategies to remember when planning for the new year.

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With 2020 only a few weeks away, business leaders are already deciding how their companies are going to forge ahead into the new year. While this is the start of a new decade, some things remain the same.

A company should always seek to improve itself. The final goal of being “the best” at something is incremental and requires lots of small changes over the years to achieve. Thirteen experts from Forbes Coaches Council examine a few techniques business leaders can implement as they start planning for the new year, and explain why those methods are so important to achieving success.

Forbes Coaches Council members advise on the best strategies for planning for your business in 2020.

1. Be Honest With Yourself

The hardest part of goal-setting is being realistic. It's easy to attempt to convert every dream into goals, but far from easy to convert those goals into achievements. Be realistic when planning for the new year. Consider roles that automatically take time and attention and be sure to incorporate recovery and relaxation. This will refine your "open" time for work and make goals truly achievable. - Joynicole Martinez , The Alchemist Agency

2. Conduct Your Own SWOT Analysis

In addition to setting business strategy for the new year, be sure to set your own leadership strategy by conducting a personal SWOT analysis. Ask trusted, objective colleagues: "What are my top leadership strengths?", "What are my top weaknesses?", "What are my growth opportunities?", "What are the internal (mindset) and external (marketplace) threats to my success?". Plan your goals based on the feedback. - Loren Margolis , Training & Leadership Success LLC

3. Humanize The Workplace

Planning for the new year starts with gratitude. It’s prudent to identify the highs and lows of the previous year. It’s also important for leaders to ensure that their team members understand the struggles and successes the organization had. Most importantly, pose a question to the team: "Where do we go from here and what’s the work to be done?" Be prepared to do the work together with a clear goal. - J. Ibeh Agbanyim , Focused Vision Consulting, LLC

4. Develop Growth Plans For The Team

We get so wrapped up in what happened last year and what we want to accomplish next year that leaders often forget the most important part to these goals—their team! They forget that it's their team that led them to success so far, and it will be their team's growth that will lead them to the new year they want to achieve. Work with these individuals and help them get personalized growth plans! - Cody Dakota Wooten , The Leadership Guide

5. Take Time For Self-Reflection

It is vital that leaders make time to reflect on the year gone past in relation to goals, actions, values, successes and, of course, their "best" failures of 2019! This gift of time to self-reflect allows leaders to take stock of what has and has not been accomplished and helps them pause and consolidate experiences in order to learn and focus on achieving more of what is desired in the year ahead. - Palena Neale, Ph.D , unabridged

6. Plan For Mental And Physical Strength

Most high-impact and ambitious leaders are excellent at planning professional goals, but they forget to secure time for energy renewal. I recommend looking at the 2020 agenda and plan for family events to participate in, friends’ reunions or routine outings to go to, winter holidays, summer holidays, regular “me time.” All of this will ensure that you will be physically and mentally balanced in 2020. - Inga Bielińska , Inga Arianna Bielinska Coaching Consulting Mentoring

7. Focus On Only A Few Priorities

Look at the overly ambitious goals we all seem to make every year and slow your roll. A few key priorities are enough to power up your 2020. To have 2020 career vision, I recommend you get with your key players and really hone down those goals and get buy-in for the new year. For example, with three key priorities or bites of the elephant you will have to-dos that will make your list long enough. - John M. O'Connor , Career Pro Inc.

8. Practice SMART Goal-Setting

When leaders are planning for a new year, it is important to begin with SMART goals. Goals are things you'd be proud to have accomplished within a certain time frame. SMART goals are strategic, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound with deadlines. The best goals have benchmarks and key performance indicators to measure success along the way. SMART goal-setting means planning for success. - Lori A. Manns , Quality Media Consultant Group LLC

9. Reinforce Being Strategically Agile

Setting the bar too high for your organization can leave your team feeling inadequate. Don't forget to let your team know what things are important—and what things can shift based on the need of the business. - Maresa Friedman , Executive Cat Herder

10. Be Ready To Give (And Take) Feedback

Despite what you may think about your workers receiving feedback about their performance, research shows that they not only want it, but they also want to give it to you. A whopping 65% of workers want more feedback. And that number swells to 80% for younger workers ( 76% of which also want to give their bosses feedback ). So as 2020 kicks off, be generous with your feedback and open to criticism yourself. - G. Riley Mills , Pinnacle Performance Company

11. Celebrate Wins And Acknowledge Losses

Wrapping up a year, and a decade at that, is an exciting time. As a leader reviews the wins and losses of the previous year, it is powerful to revisit the wins that were experienced. Acknowledging the misses through story will help ensure lessons are taken forward as valuable learning experiences. Casting a compelling vision will help generate momentum for a bright start to the new year. - Alexsys "Lexy" Thompson , Alexsys Thompson Intl

12. Engage To Create Ownership

Incorporate employee engagement in your planning process. Ask for their input in two areas: 1) Ask them to identify issues and opportunities they think are critical for the company's success. 2) Share the company's top priorities and ask them how they think the company can best work toward those priorities. This gives you a chance to see a blind spot, and creates ownership of the top priorities. - Jennifer Owen-O'Quill , Voltage Leadership Consulting

13. Keep Your Eye On The Three Horizons

The Three Horizons Model developed by Baghai, Coley and White in the Alchemy of Growth is a great way for leaders to start 2020 with clarity, drive and excitement. In Horizon 1, you're clear about your core business and how to expand it. In Horizon 2, you're focused on what aspects of the business you'll build for growth. And in Horizon 3, you're exploring new ideas that will shape your future. - Gabriella Goddard , Brainsparker Leadership Academy

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Planning for the New Year: How to Set and Hit Your Goals

December 07, 2023

The end of the year is fast approaching, and it’s an excellent time to reflect on how far you’ve come, fine-tune your goals, and start planning for the new year. Take the opportunity to reflect on what you’ve learned — from your successes to things that didn’t quite work out as planned — and apply these newfound learnings to your business. Key takeaways from the past year will provide you with direction for new goal setting and implementation.

Planning for the new year will give you a renewed sense of purpose in your business. It will serve as a reminder of why you started your business and give you the motivation to hit the ground running in the new year.

To get started with planning your goals for the upcoming year, it’s important to first reflect on the past 12 months. Start by reviewing your business plan for the year and consider what worked for you and what didn’t. Ask yourself why you were able to reach some of your goals and not others. You can gain clarity by asking yourself questions such as:

• Where did I see success?
• What didn’t go to plan?
• Did I achieve the goals I set for your business last year? Why or why not?

Take note of what information you can gather from different tools that can also assist in your review:

• Website analytics
• Social media insights
• Practice Better Reports & Analytics
• Client feedback

Determine Your New Goals & Objectives

Once you’ve reviewed the past year, you’ll be ready to determine what you’d like to focus on achieving in the upcoming year.

Take note of both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of your business when considering your goals. Use your dreams as inspiration, but ensure the goals you set for yourself are attainable and actionable.

1. Quantitative Outcomes

Quantitative outcomes are objective, measurable, and numerical in nature. They aren’t influenced by your personal feelings or opinions. Consider reviewing the following quantitative information when planning for the new year:

• Your income (monthly, quarterly, and annually)
• Month-over-month growth
• The number of services, packages, and programs booked and purchased
• The performance of new services and programs launched
• The number of cancellations or no-shows
• Growth on your social media platforms
• Conversion ratios of prospective clients
• Repeat business and referrals

2. Qualitative Outcomes

Qualitative outcomes are more subjective and refer to the quality of something. These aspects of your business can typically be observed but not directly measured. As a business owner, these are important considerations when thinking about the culture of your business and the type of work environment you foster when planning for the new year:

• Did your schedule feel manageable?
• How were your stress levels throughout the year?
• Did you feel in flow and aligned?
• Did your business feel authentic to you?

What a successful business looks like will vary depending on the practitioner, so whether you want to focus your goals on the qualitative aspects of your business, the quantitative, or a combination of both, there is no right or wrong focus when it comes to goal planning.

Map Out Your Goals

Implementing a strategic plan can turn your desires and dreams into real goals that are ready to be put into action. Once you’ve determined what you’d like to achieve, it’s important to further break down your goals into smaller action steps.

A strategic approach to consider is the SMART goals for creating well-defined objectives : Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. This is a formula for ensuring your goals are actionable and can be followed through on.

• Specific : Use as much fine detail and precise wording as possible when crafting your goals. Vague goals do not set the stage for easy strategizing and implementation. Specificity will help your goal be more effective.
• Measurable : Adding a quantifying aspect to your goal makes it much easier to track progress and success. To make a goal as impactful as possible, incorporate numbers that can help act as progress benchmarks.
• Attainable : Goals should inspire you and push you out of your comfort zone. While they should challenge you, they should also be realistic and within reach.
• Relevant : This is your opportunity to evaluate whether or not your goal is truly important to you and your business. Ask yourself, if you follow through with your goal, what impact will this have on your business? Is the goal aligned with your overall vision?
• Time-Bound : Objectives tied to a deadline will reduce the opportunity to procrastinate and keep you moving forward in a timely fashion. Time-bound goals should include a plan of when you’d like to have the entire goal accomplished and deadlines for your broken down, smaller tasks. You can consider what can be accomplished weekly, monthly, or quarterly to contribute to your annual goals.

Breaking down your broader goals into smaller actionable tasks will ensure efficiency and accountability and can help you turn your dreams into reality as you start planning for the new year. Consistent small steps add up to big wins! Smaller tasks will also make it easier to roadmap and create a timeline.

Starting with small, easier-to-implement tasks will also provide quick wins that can boost your sense of progress and help build momentum. This momentum will build so you have the confidence and motivation to take on bigger tasks along the way.

Work backward to break down your goals. Start at the end and think of all the steps it will take along the way to get you to your end goal. When working backward to map out your tasks, identify roadblocks you’ve experienced in the past or are anticipating encountering. This will allow you to be proactive in your approach rather than reactive as hurdles and other challenges present themselves along the way.

Create a Follow-Through Plan

Now that you’ve mapped out your goals for the year ahead, it’s important to implement a clear follow-through plan so you can stay on track when planning for the new year. There are many accountability exercises and strategies to consider:

• Understand your why : Why does it matter for you to achieve this particular goal? What will it mean to your business and you personally? Getting clear on the “why” will reinforce your goals and remind you why you started in the first place as the new year’s motivation and buzz wears off.
• Use the task feature : Take it further by creating Tasks within Practice Better for the action steps you’ve broken down your bigger goals into. Tasks can be set for yourself as a practitioner, with a due date, and will be on the first page you see when you log into your Practitioner Portal. This will provide a visual reminder to keep your goals top of mind.
• Write down your goals : Find a place to track or write down your goals so you can easily remind yourself of what you are working towards. Keeping them somewhere you will see every day will allow your goals to stay top of mind and keep you apprised of what you need to focus on at all times.
• Schedule your goals: Input target deadlines for your goals into your calendar. These scheduled reminders will keep you on the path you’ve mapped out for yourself and keep you accountable to your deadlines. Consider adding monthly and quarterly reminders in your calendar to regularly review your progress.
• Have an accountability partner : An accountability partner is someone you can check in with and who provides you with support and motivation. Consider asking a colleague or friend and sharing your goals with them, and plan to check in with one another regularly.
• Celebrate along the way : Plan to celebrate small wins along the way to maintain momentum and motivation.

The end of the year is a great opportunity for reflection and strategizing on how to reach new heights in your business. Reviewing your business to date, determining your goals, and mapping out an accountability plan will ensure you are planning for the new year with your best foot forward!

Editor’s note: This post was originally published on November 10, 2020, and has been revamped for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

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New Year’s Planning for Business Owners

Make a resolution to review these six areas of your operation

Investopedia contributors come from a range of backgrounds, and over 25 years there have been thousands of expert writers and editors who have contributed.

At the beginning of every new year, it’s a good idea for business owners to take time to sit down and do a little planning, to make sure they can keep their company afloat and on the right course going forward.

Doing so can help ensure that your business has the necessary tools to meet its financial and operational goals and that your valued employees will be content with their working environment and unlikely to jump ship.

Read on for some tips on a smooth planning process for your digital presence, vendors, equipment, employees, insurance, and retirement plans.

Key Takeaways

• If you own a business, do some financial housekeeping at the beginning of each year to prevent unexpected money needs where possible.
• To avoid unpleasant surprises, make sure that your insurance policies and employee benefits program are on track and not set to lapse.
• Evaluate your staffing, vendor, and marketing efforts to keep up with your competitors.
• Consider the broader economy and determine whether factors such as labor market conditions or the pace of inflation require any changes on your part.

1. Consider Your Digital Footprint

Set up a business website.

If you want to compete, especially with the big names, you need a presence online and in social media . Begin by planning a website for your business, if you don’t already have one. How complex it has to be and how much traffic you need to generate will determine whether you can set it up yourself or should hire a professional to do it for you.

Here’s a basic checklist for this task:

• Select and purchase a recognizable domain name that customers can connect easily with your business.
• Determine whether you should share a host with other small websites, employ a managed hosting service for larger businesses, or set up your own dedicated server.
• For your budget , remember to build in costs for website maintenance and marketing.
• Develop a marketing plan to ensure that once you have your website up and running, it will draw visitors.

Develop a Social Media Presence

A social media presence for your business is essential these days. If you aren’t already, become familiar with platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), Snapchat, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, and TikTok.

Try to define the audiences who they serve and select those that match your customer profile. For example, certain age groups may focus on Facebook, while others may prefer TikTok. Most platforms will offer advertising kits, demographic data, and more to those interested in using their sites for sales and marketing purposes.

If you’re unsure of how or where to start building your social media presence, there are services that can assist you. You can also hire individuals or firms to help you maintain that presence if that’s not your strong suit or you simply don’t have the time to devote to the effort.

If you decide to be hands-on, create a social media team within your company to plot your online strategy for reaching potential patrons. This team should define your audience, its interests, and how to reach it with existing or newly created content. Blogging, vlogging (video blogging), and podcasts are just some of the ways to market your business and reach prospects and customers.

2. Review Your Vendors and Suppliers

Every business owner should periodically review their vendors and suppliers to make certain that they are receiving the competitive prices and quality service that they need. The beginning of the year may be the best time for such a review.

In many cases, vendors will be working on their own budgets for the year, looking to pin down business, and open to cutting deals to ensure that they achieve their quarterly and annual financial objectives.

With that in mind, business owners should ask themselves the following questions:

• Do current vendors charge reasonable rates?
• Do they provide excellent service and adapt to the changing needs of my business?
• Should I establish relationships with any new vendors or suppliers?
• Does it make sense to try out a new vendor with a small order?
• Would trying out a new vendor provide my business with leverage over an existing vendor?

Business owners with an eye on their bottom line want to know whether they’re getting the best possible products and services at the lowest possible prices. The first few months of the year are an opportune time to take stock of this.

3. Evaluate Your Equipment

Manufacturing companies and many service-related businesses depend on machinery, supplies, and a variety of other equipment to operate. However, many business owners are so focused on day-to-day activities that they forget to make sure they have what they need to operate smoothly and grow their enterprise.

Early in the first quarter is a good time to evaluate equipment needs and to determine whether any new capital investments are in order. This type of planning can ensure that your company is always properly equipped to capitalize on business opportunities. It can also help you allocate needed cash or arrange for borrowing.

Here are some questions to consider for equipment needs:

• Does your business have the equipment necessary to succeed and profit over the long haul?
• If not, can existing equipment last another year, and can your business sustain itself using it?
• What will new equipment cost, and where can you obtain quotes for it?
• Does your company have the cash on hand or the ability to finance such purchases, or will the money need to come from future operational cash flow ?
• Are there any expenses that could be cut to offset and help justify such expenditures?

4. Consider Your Employees

Your planning should also consider your staffing needs. It’s advantageous to uncover any deficiencies early on in the year, so that you can make the appropriate adjustments.

Also, bear in mind that finding, hiring, and training the right person can take a lot of time. So it helps to get started as soon as possible. That can be especially true when a low unemployment rate and hot job market mean that potential employees may receive multiple job offers.

Finally, it’s important to realize that many employees ponder their own futures at the end of the year. They may start thinking about whether they intend to stay with your company or move on. If they choose the latter, you’ll want to be ready to deal with the consequences.

5. Check Your Insurance Coverage

Though the old adage says that the best defense is a good offense, sometimes the best offense is a good defense. Simply put,  insurance coverage is a business necessity.

At the beginning of the year, new rates for health insurance , business liability insurance , automobile insurance , umbrella policies , and other types of insurance tend to go into effect, so it’s an opportune time to go quote shopping.

Be sure to consider the following questions about your insurance:

• Is your company adequately covered by liability insurance, and does it have adequate fire and health insurance?
• Are insurance companies running multiple policy bundling deals at the beginning of the year to win your business?
• Are there any new insurance carriers that might be able to provide competitive quotes?
• Has your company taken on any new assets or business interests that haven’t been accounted for and protected by existing policies?

6. Review Your Retirement Plans

Businesses that want to set up a 401(k) , simplified employee pension (SEP) , or other retirement plan should do so as early as possible during the year. Setting up a plan early can permit employees to take full advantage of their annual allowed pretax contributions and the tax advantage offered by qualified retirement plans. The longer their money can grow on a tax-deferred basis, the larger the nest egg they can potentially accumulate.

Reviewing the various plans, selecting an investment firm, and actually setting up a plan don’t happen overnight. Getting an early jump on these efforts makes sense.

Here are some questions that can assist your planning:

• What will it cost to administer the plan?
• How many employees might benefit from the plan and want to take advantage of it?
• How much, if anything, will your company need to contribute to the plan?
• Are there any advantages to setting up one type of plan over another based on costs, your company’s size, and your employees’ retirement needs?
• Which type of plan or combination of plans will best meet your own retirement needs?

Why Is Planning at the Start of a New Year a Good Idea?

Fiscal years often begin with the new year, so reevaluating and making any necessary changes at that point gives you the maximum benefit across the next 12 months. It also gives participants in retirement plans the opportunity to maximize their savings.

Which Areas of My Business Should I Look at?

Six important areas to consider are your online and social media presence, vendors, equipment, staffing needs, insurance, and retirement plans.

How Will Rising Inflation Affect My Business Outlook?

No one knows for sure whether inflation will rise or fall. But you’ll want to factor it into your financial planning. Among other things, inflation could affect your borrowing costs, the prices you pay for supplies, and the salary expectations of your employees. You’ll also need to weigh whether to raise your own prices and by how much, as well as the potential impact that might have on the demand for your products or services.

Business owners should continually evaluate their businesses and make adjustments accordingly. However, from a number of angles—such as insurance, retirement plans, staffing, vendors, and equipment needs—the beginning of a new year is a particularly opportune time to examine aspects of your business and plan decisively.

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New Year, New Goals: A Guide to Effective Business Planning

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Every January, with the hustle and bustle of the holidays behind us, many business leaders tend to pivot to a “back to business” mindset, complete with the anxiety-generating thought, “What about that annual business plan I never got around to writing?”  Indeed, January seems to pass by quickly, and before you blink, 1 st Quarter is halfway over.  To have a chance at hitting Q1 goals and setting a great tone for the new year, you need to move quickly. Here’s a structure for a quick-and-dirty New Year business plan you could handwrite on a single sheet of notebook paper.

What Happened Last Year?

Jot down the key things that happened to your business over the past year.  (You can refine it later.) You may already be close to your financial results but also think through the non-financial performance results (e.g., customer satisfaction, fill rate, etc. – specific to your business) that impacted you last year. Try to be as specific as possible, even if it takes a little time to chase down the exact numbers from others in the organization. This will set you up well for the later steps.

What Did You Learn Last Year?

Beyond the financials and performance results, what insights about your business, your internal capabilities, your competitors, and most especially your customers did you learn over the past 12 months? Your insights about your business and your customers help you differentiate from the competition.  And yet, most businesses skip this step entirely.  Try to spend a little bit of time in thought and contemplation over this. Ask yourself: “What specific insights or experiences can help me gain an edge this year?”

What Do You Want to Happen This Year?

Grounded in our recent learnings, it is time to turn our attention to the year ahead.  Looking at last year’s performance, decide what success looks like to you for next year. Again, these goals can be both financial and non-financial. (The most successful companies track both types of goals.)

And don’t forget to make these “SMART” goals. There are many definitions of the SMART acronym out there, but the ones businesses tend tend to use is: Specific, Measurable, Aligned (with long-term strategy), Realistic, and Time-Bound. 

Make sure that every goal you set has each of these elements.  And also, challenge yourself to do less this year.  Sometimes, less is more – attempting to do fewer things better is often a more successful approach than running the risk of spreading yourself too thin.

What Do I Need To Do to Achieve Those Goals? 

A goal without a way to achieve it is less than worthless. For every one of your goals, think through a high-level strategy and a step-by-step action plan (with rough milestone timing) to make it happen. You don’t need to write a novel, but you do need to provide enough detail to guide yourself and your team when the ideas aren’t as fresh in your head.

How Can I Stay On Track?

The point of your newly-crafted plan is not to sit in a folder or gather dust. Set check-ins for yourself and your team in a time frame that makes sense. Scheduling a quarterly review of the overall plans is usually a good idea.  And if, later in the year, you find yourself off-track on any of your goals, don’t beat yourself up. Instead, determine what it would take to course-correct yourself toward the success you originally envisioned. Allow yourself to factor in what you know to reframe your going-in plan and target something realistic based on what you know.

Rather than write a drawn-out conclusion paragraph, I’m going to implore you instead to pull out your pad and pen and get started right now.  Start jotting down rough thoughts. You can crystallize them later. But bear in mind – any planning at all that you’re able to do is going to be 100% better than no plan at all. 

If getting ahead of your staffing needs is part of your goals for this new year, we can help! Here at Labor Finders, we're dedicated to helping our clients put their best foot forward this year and beyond. Connect with us today to see how we can help you achieve your new year's business goals.

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