Episode 115 – Wrapping Up Your Year & Make Next Year Better

Show Notes

There are some simple metrics that are normally used to determine a businesses success like:

• Did revenue grow compared to previous years
• Your expenses and revenue are growing at a healthy rate together
• You have a mix of new and repeat customers
• You have profits in the bank
• Profit margins are high and healthy for the business

These are all very important and you have to spend time looking into them consistently. However, let’s look into some really specific information and how we can turn that into success for the next year(s) to come.

What were the best jobs you had?

• Most profitable
• Most enjoyable
• Most sustainable

What can you do next year to get more work like this?

• How did you get that customer?
• Can they refer you to others?

Do the jobs you thought of above all have some common elements?

• A certain niche, obtained a certain way, certain method

Did these jobs only come from certain customers?

Who were your best customers?

• Profitable
• Effortless
• You like them
• Referred you to other customers

Take a look at their profile and determine if you can find people more like them.

• What marketing got them?
• Are they in a market you can specifically target?
• Can you write up something to help identify future customers like this to make sure you get their business?

What did you enjoy doing most?

Part of the health of your business is more than money, it’s about living your dream.

Did you love selling more than the production?
look to hire someone to do production

Did you hate the selling but love the embroidery?
Look for someone to help you sell or do more marketing to get inbound sales

What skill did you master the most?
If you learned something that you are proud of… take note.

Is this a skill to can continue to take to the next level?
Is there something you’d like to learn just as well in 2020?

Create a list of these skills and prioritize them

What sales / marketing tactics worked?

Did you buy an add in a school paper and got a lot of calls?
Did you go knocking on doors and drum up a lot of business?
Did improving your Google My Business and Bling Places and Facebook pages help get calls?
Was most of your business from referrals?

You have to take a look at which one of these did the best for your business and consider how you go deeper into these.

Look at your 80/20 rule
Generally speaking, its said 20% of your customers bring in 80% of your income. Take a look at your numbers and see how that added up for your year.

Do you have a handful of big accounts that bring in most of the revenue?
If this is the case look at how you can possibly get deeper into those customers or how you can find more customers that match that profile.

The best way to make your business better each year is to not only dive into the numbers like how we started this podcast but look into yourself and your customers. Use this to figure out what’s in store for you next year.