Revitalize Your Business in 5 Steps: How to Conduct a Business Review for Entrepreneurs
Raise your hand if you wonder how the year is just flying by! As an ambitious entrepreneur, reviewing your progress so far is crucial for feeling accomplished at the end of this year, setting new goals for the remainder of the year, and most importantly, revitalizing your passion.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, burned out, and ready for this year to be over, don’t worry… I’ve got you covered! After reading this post and following my five-step process below, you will be empowered to make informed decisions and feel reinvigorated to CRUSH the next few months in your business… in just 60 minutes or less!
Below, I’ve outlined a comprehensive business review guide for female entrepreneurs to efficiently and intentionally review the year so far.
So, are you ready to get back that new year energy no matter what month of the year it is?
Grab your favorite journal and your laptop, set your phone on Do Not Disturb (because this is YOUR time), and grab a delicious coffee! It’s time to dive into my five-step process to efficiently and intentionally review the first half of the year…
“GET YOUR MINDSET RIGHT” JOURNAL REFLECTION
Getting started is always the hardest. When I sit down to do my business review, I have to put myself in the right mindset, and taking a moment to reflect is the best way to begin. So, grab your favorite pen and journal on these questions below for 10 minutes:
What has been the most challenging moment?
What has been the most rewarding/fulfilling moment?
In the moments that I felt my best, what was I doing on a consistent basis? Have I continued doing those things, or do I need to adjust my schedule to do those more?
What have been the REAL needle movers in my business this year so far? What’s been working for me?
What have been some of my biggest “time sucks” this year so far? What hasn’t been working for me?
What is my overall mission and vision for my business? Why did I even start this in the first place? Long term, what am I hoping to accomplish?
If I wanted to finish this year (or this quarter) strong, what new habits, skills, or practices would I need to implement in my business?
KNOW YOUR PRECISE LOCATION
How do you feel about your numbers? Most people either love reviewing their business numbers or hate it, but it's crucial to your success. Without this step, you won’t be able to set goals that matter and have a clear direction on what’s needed to get there. Imagine wanting to drive to your house, yet not knowing exactly where you are – would you be able to get there? It would be hard without some context of your current location.
Therefore, I want you to review your revenue and expenses in your business for the past three to six months. Whether it be through a simple Google spreadsheet, pulling a report from HoneyBook, or logging into Quickbooks, this step is crucial. Go through different spending categories and examine if you’ve been overspending in one area, if you have been subscribed to something you aren’t using anymore, or if you’ve purchased one too many coffees during your business meetings.
After you’ve reviewed your revenue and expenses, take a look at your profitability and how much you’ve been setting aside for taxes. April always creeps up faster than we think (and we have no clue how), so you want to be prepared for the estimated amount you may owe in taxes. If you’re unsure how to calculate that, consult with your accountant or use a simple online tax calculator that can estimate your amount due in April.
Next, let’s take a look at other key metrics that go beyond the financial aspect of your business. Identify what those metrics are for your business if you don’t have those already. Some examples include:
Social Media Growth in terms of engagement, followers, or posting consistency
Number of Positive Reviews or Client Satisfaction
Effectiveness of Your Marketing Campaigns in terms of new leads, lead conversions to clients, etc.
Number of new clients or customers you’ve acquired this year
LET THE NUMBERS GUIDE YOU
Now it’s time to uncover the gold. Numbers are just numbers until you analyze them and use them to form goals for the rest of the year.
That’s why you’ll dive deep into the key metrics you’ve identified to gain insights and recognize your strengths and weaknesses. Then, you’ll ask yourself some more questions about where improvements can be made, what key metrics you want to focus on for the next 3-6 months, and what trends in your industry or in your metrics can you use to your advantage.
Set a timer for 10 minutes and ask yourself:
Am I happy with my current metrics? How do they compare to industry standards?
Are there metrics that correlate to each other or affect each other?
What would be the top two metrics I want to focus on improving for the next three to six months?
What’s one habit I can implement for the next three months that would improve the main metrics I want to focus on?
Do I need to look into outsourcing a task to improve one of my metrics?
BE INTENTIONAL WITH YOUR GOALS
Have you ever set a business goal without really knowing why? I know I have. Taking 10 minutes to set an intention for the next three to six months will not only help you to set goals that matter, but it will also allow you to know what success means FOR YOU, not anyone else.
Once you’ve completed the steps above, set your intentions by writing down this sentence in your planner or journal and filling in the blank:
“At the end of this year, I would feel successful if ________________________.”
My advice when setting your intentional goal is to base it on how YOU define your success… what YOU truly want. Throw out any goals that others tell you SHOULD happen because you’ll never be excited or satisfied achieving something that isn’t meaningful to YOU.
Be realistic about what’s achievable for you in the next three to six months. Consider holidays, vacations, and other commitments or obligations that you foresee arising when envisioning what a successful year would actually look like.
Break down this overall goal into two to three smaller steps and turn them into specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals and simple habits.
RECONNECT WITH YOUR VISION TO PLAN THE REST OF THE YEAR
After completing most of your review, are you feeling exhausted or discouraged? Then this magical step is for you.
It activates that boost of energy that is VERY much needed at this point. When I completed my first review, I didn’t finish with this transformation exercise and felt completely drained (analyzing numbers will do that to any creative or visionary, am I right?).
So although it may be easy to skip this step, I highly recommend you take the extra 10 minutes to realign with your vision for your business AND your life.
Close your eyes for 5 minutes, put on some of your favorite music (I love listening to Spotify’s Lo-fi Beats Playlist), and DREAM about the future.
Envision your best self in the next three to six months and how you’ll feel at the end of the year by incorporating all of the five senses:
What does your best self look like? What do you see? What are you doing?
What are you smelling at the end of the year when you’re celebrating your accomplishments?
What are you listening to? Who are you surrounded by, and what conversations are you having?
What are you drinking and enjoying? Is it your favorite meal at your favorite restaurant?
What are you touching or sitting on? Are you hugging anyone close to you?
What emotions are you feeling?
After the 5 minutes is up, sit in your feelings and write down this rest-of-the-year vision you have. Then, connect that vision to your goals and create a plan for what you’ll do in the next 30 days to get closer to your goals, AND add it to your planner/calendar. Maybe it’s achieving one of the smaller goals you set in Step #4, or maybe it’s waking up an hour earlier to get in some extra mindset work.
Congratulations on completing your business review… how did that feel?!
In just 60 minutes, you've empowered yourself with valuable insights into your business’s performance over the past three to six months. Armed with this knowledge, you can now plan strategically for the rest of the year, continue to set ambitious yet achievable goals and revitalize your passion for your business.
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