The Secret Weapon to Business Success: Reflection

26 May

Reflection is one of my favourite (and most important) business tools. Here’s why…

Now, don’t worry, I’m not asking you to reflect on your business once a week or daily - who’s got that kind of time?!

I’m talking half a day every 3 months - that’s the bare minimum - and it must be a non-negotiable.

I understand business reflection or goal-setting can sometimes feel overwhelming; but trust me there is no excuse to not be doing it, as the alternative is so much worse!

Ultimately, if we’re avoiding reflecting on our business we’re sabotaging ourselves. Why? Because we need to understand what needs to change in order for our business to be a success (whatever success might mean to you). Maybe an uncomfortable truth there, but this is something we really need to tackle if we want to overcome challenges in our business and move forward as happy, fulfilled business owners.

So today (yes, right now!) I want you to grab a pen and paper, or hop into a google doc, to start reflecting on your last quarter in business and start prepping for the next one!

Don’t worry I won’t be leaving you high and dry - here are my 3 simple steps to help you stay on track this financial year, and start the next quarter* better prepared…

*Quick lowdown on Quarters - skip if you know this!

Financial quarters go from the start of the UK financial year (April), and calendar quarters start of course from January. As a Small Businessowner, I’m always referring to calendar year quarters, but you may find that often bigger companies or large corporations think in terms of the tax year quarters due to budgetary constraints and tax implications - so just something that’s worth being aware of!

So for my reflections, Q1 is Jan-March, Q2 is April-June, Q3 is July-September and Q4 is October-December.

Financial year quarters are basically one quarter behind: April-June is Q1, then July-September is Q2 etc. Finishing end of March.

Step 1 - Reflect

This first stage is all about reflection. Looking back at the previous Quarter and reflecting on what went well and what didn’t go so well.

So, first up I want you to take a look at your goals from Q1 and I want you to think about the following:

How did you do?
What could have gone better?
And what did you absolutely ace?
Make quick notes & pat yourself on the back for the successes! 🥳

Step 2 - Review

Once you've completed Step 1, it's time to review your actual business finances vs your business finance best practices (aka goal s). While Step 1 was a quick gut-feeling response, this time I want you to do a real deep dive into your finances.

Pull up your accounting tool, banking app insights or excel spreadsheet and look at how much profit you’re making from your business
Compare it to what you’re bringing in; and I’m talking net profit here! (your actual take home wage once expenses and tax have been considered)
Talking about tax, have you got enough saved up?
Are you putting money into a pension pot? Are there investments you want to make in the business that you need to account for in your planning?

Reviewing all of this will help you understand what your financial priorities will need to be for the next 3-6 months, which brings us onto Step 3…

Step 3 - Take Action

It’s time to set those goals, and I don’t want wishy washy goals here; your goals should be detailed, specific and realistic (think SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Bound).

But, most importantly I want you to ACTUALLY SET THE TIME ASIDE in your calendar to action these goals. You need to treat these goals as important, if not more important than client work! They need to be prioritized and should not be overlooked. By popping time in your calendar you’re telling yourself that your goals deserve to be taken seriously. Which they do!

To help you along with your quarterly goal-setting, try to have at least one goal for each of the below categories:

Financial: an amount to earn, to save; to reinvest (equipment, training)
Business: new offer, website, outsourcing, marketing & ads, PR
CEO and personal growth: networking, speaking, writing or podcast opportunity, work-life balance
Challenge: What is one thing I can try that I haven’t tried before?
Reward: How can I reward myself for achieving at least 2 of those goals?

Remember that you’re trying to stay on track for the quarter - not trying to achieve everything all at once!

Some months are quieter for Client work, but that allows time to upskill or network. Some months Client work is mad - can you use that to save for tax, safety net savings or upgrade some tech?

🔥 HOT TIP 🔥

If you struggle to hold yourself accountable, I recommend sharing your goals with a fellow business owners, so you can help keep EACH OTHER accountable - I do that within business communities I’m part of, and with my fellow CEO friends, can highly recommend!🔥

And that’s all from me for this month, MAKE THE TIME, REFLECT, THANK ME LATER 😉

P.s - If all the above fills you with overwhelm more than anything else, and working ON (not in) your business feels out of reach at the moment, then my 60-minute clarity call will be perfect for you. Book here.