Liz Fleming - It’s been a big year, be sure to finish strong

IT’S BEEN A BIG YEAR, BE SURE TO FINISH STRONG

with Liz Fleming The Efficiency Coach

As 2021 draws to a close, it seems this year has gone in a flash, yet at the same time it feels like this year has gone on forever! Let’s finish 2021 strong and start 2022 even stronger!

In light of this, it’s time to REFLECT… the good, the challenges and what we can learn from our recent experiences, leading to our goals for next year.

I can finally see light at the end of the tunnel. Let’s embrace it and make the most of our new-found freedoms; in life and business.

So what does reflection mean for you?

It’s always good to use this end-of-year time to reflect on all that you have achieved this year (including all your wins, no matter how big or small). It is a good idea to share your reflections with someone external to your business. Sometimes we are just too busy working IN the business that we can forget all the great things we have achieved that are clearly visible to our followers, supporters, customers and clients. Do you have a business mentor or business coach, or a trusted advisor that you can share your reflections with, so you can really benefit from their added insight?

I always enjoy these reflection sessions with my clients where we are brainstorming and reflecting on the past 12 months. To create more purpose, make sure you clearly document your reflections, as it becomes a starting point for next year’s goal-setting and your strategy planning. I encourage you to take some time, in a quiet space, to reflect upon the past 12 months and really embrace this exercise.

The second part of the reflections exercise is to identify what you have LEARNT this year? What learnings and changes can be carried forward into next year or be incorporated in your normal business operations? What would you do again? What would you not do again? What would you change? What would you keep the same or do more of? What can you let go? These are the types of questions to ask yourself.

Now, to put this all into action, we can bring it all together, to set our goals for next year. What do you want the year 2022 to look like for you and your business? What does success look like for you and your business? What do you want to be reflecting upon, this time next year?

What are your goals for your business? It may to be to improve on your social media postings, to grow your audience and following, to improve your financial capability and better understand your numbers in your business, develop a strategic or business plan that collates everything you have done in the past or set revenue targets for your business for each quarter.

We’ve all had to ‘re-invent’ ourselves and our businesses over the past two years and it is time to consolidate all of that work to make it just a bit easier on ourselves. Now that we have a little more certainty in the world we live in, we can be hopeful that we can stick to our plans for the next year (hopefully).

I know in my own business, I have many ideas I want to implement in 2022 and I know I cannot do them all at the same time or in the first quarter, so I am prioritising, planning to change the way I do things and also working out what I can outsource for the year. Planning is KEY!

I will be working with my clients leading up to Christmas and the new year to ensure we reflect on their achievements for the year, including a review of their financial position and ensure that the start of 2022 is as prosperous as it can be. The more ready we are, the more we can take on when challenges come our way. It’s all in the planning and being prepared with the right support in place.

Enjoy the Christmas festivities, be purposeful about taking a break – set yourself a date that you will clock off, or roster days off each week. Time to recharge is important to keep going, we do not want you to burnout and be exhausted before 2022 has even started. Sometimes you need to slow down to know what direction you should be going.

I hope everyone has a safe Christmas and New Year period with family and friends. I look forward to working with you in 2022 – let’s make it our best year yet!

Stay efficient!

Liz Fleming The Efficiency Coach is a business mentor and accountant based in Traralgon in Gippsland. Liz is passionate about supporting small businesses to thrive, by utilising her skills and experience to develop processes, systems and strategies for small businesses to become more efficient. You know how there are never enough hours in the day and you don’t know where to start, Liz will show you how to maximise your time and discover who is best to do what and when. Her promise is more profit, more time and more fulfilment. Liz is a Chartered Accountant with a Masters in Forensic Accounting, with more than 15 years of finance experience across various industries (including government) and has called Gippsland home for the past 5 years.

She works with small business across a number of industries including primary producers, artisan producers, retailers, services, tradies, helping them to thrive in their business. Please get in touch if you want to work with Liz in 2022.

@lizfleming_theefficiencycoach