It’s time to prepare your business for 2021. Some may say you should have done that already. They’re not wrong, yet given the realities of business and the crush of end of year work, you may not have made it a priority. If that is the case, you still have four weeks left until 2021, and this 4 part series will get you ready to put together your plan of attack. Here is the breakdown of each weekly theme.

• December 7^th – Realistically Assess Your Business
• December 14th – Bend the Curve and Achieve Your Goals Faster
• December 21^st – Create Your 2021 Goals and Strategies
• December 28^th – Set Your 2021 Priorities

Today we’re going to focus on how you can realistically assess your business. You may not want to do this. It’s been a weird year. I have clients who have struggled to stay afloat and those challenged to manage unexpected growth. Yet, the most important thing you can do right now to prepare your business for 2021 is to pause and take an objective look at your company.

So, where do you start? I’m going to ask you to consider three areas: What’s working in your business, what’s working in your sales and marketing programs and how are you, a personal assessment. What I’m not going to ask is that you make this a laborious exercise. Take 10 or 15 minutes to work through each of these areas.

What’s Working in Your Business?

The first area we want to consider is the strength of your business overall. As we look at the company, we will breakdown three categories: Revenues & Profits, Processes, People Strategies. On a scale of 1 to 10 (1=disaster and 10= Brilliantly successful), rate the business on the following.

• Revenues and Profits
  • Sales
  • Profitability
  • Cash Flow
  • Expense Control
  • Marketing & New Products
• Processes
  • Planning & Budgets
  • Technology
  • Quality & Safety
  • Strategic Alliances & Vendors
• People
  • Employees & Subcontractors

What’s Working in Your Sales & Marketing Programs?

This is the second area we want to think through. Why? If we don’t have a reliable way to bring revenue into the business, our processes and people strategies won’t matter. On a scale of 1 to 10 (1=disaster and 10= Brilliantly successful), rate the company on the following.

• Know and understand our Ideal Client
• Compelling Product and Service Offerings
• Effective Marketing Systems that Target our Ideal Clients
• Pricing Policies that Attract Ideal Clients and Produce Desired Margins
• Effective Customer Service Systems
• Strong Strategic Alliances
• Effective Advertising, Promotions, Events, and Seminars
• Compelling Website
• Sales & Marketing Tracking Systems
• Effective Project & Cost Controls

How are You? A Personal Assessment

Personal isn’t business. Yet, when you’re the business leader, your mindset, energy, and individual situation are intertwined with your business. You need to make the personal part of the overall assessment as you prepare your business for 2021; on a scale of 1 to 10 (1=disaster and 10= Brilliantly successful), rate yourself on the following.

• Your Physical Health
• Your Mental Health
• Relationships at Work
• Your Role at Work
• Personal Finances
• Life Outside of Work
• Sense of Community
• Plans for Retirement
• Stress Level
• Sense of Well Being

Once you have completed the ratings, you have one more step to complete. Under each, identify the key issues or opportunities that influenced your assessment. Then brainstorm actions you can take to improve low ratings or maintain high ratings. Finally, hang on to these. We will use them for the rest of our work in the coming weeks to prepare your business for 2021.

Do you need some help with this kickoff exercise? Set up a consultation call and we will walk through it!