Business Planning for the New Year

It’s the end of January already and kids are heading back to school, holidays are winding up and you’re diving back into business! It’s a good time while you're fresh and inspired to turn intentions into actions and create a clear plan for the year.

Business planning for the new year typically involves setting goals and objectives for the upcoming year, as well as identifying strategies and actions to achieve those goals.

It is a good idea to review the previous year's performance and identify areas for improvement. This could include analysing financials, conducting market research, and gathering feedback from customers and employees.

It is important to set realistic goals and prioritise them based on their importance to the overall business and driving towards your vision. Although they should be realistic, they should also be a bit scary and aiming a little larger than perhaps you ordinarily would.

You don’t need to know the how of achieving these goals – just set them and work out the how after!

It's also important to identify potential challenges and opportunities that may arise in the new year, and develop a plan to address them.

Additionally, creating a budget for the new year is an important step in business planning. Particularly ensuring that the budget is helping driving you towards your goals! It's also important to review and update business policies and procedures, and to communicate any changes to employees. Finally, it's important to review your business’s progress and make adjustments as necessary throughout the year.