As we head into the start of a new financial year, it’s important to take a step back and reflect on the previous year’s financial performance. This is the perfect time to evaluate what worked well, what didn’t, and identify areas for improvement.
Planning can often feel like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are a few tips to make the planning process more enjoyable.
- Create a comfortable and inspiring environment > Make sure it is conducive to clear thinking and creativity.
- Use visual aids > think about printing out photos from business/holidays/google that relate to your goals and excite you
- Make it a game > Use a scoring system or create challenges that encourage creativity and innovation
- Incorporate rewards > reward yourself for reaching planning milestones
- Take breaks!!
Below is my favourite way to approach planning the new financial year. I find that a really effective way to run your planning sessions is to step away from the desk, come back to basics and use a whiteboard.
- Reflect on the past year: Take some time to reflect on the previous financial year. Analyse your successes and failures, and identify areas that need improvement. It is important to think big picture, maybe your successes are related to sales, operations, your team, marketing or the customer experience! Celebrate your successes and use your failures as learning opportunities. Use this as your baseline to start to measure your success throughout the year.
- Focus on the positive: It’s easy to get bogged down in negative thoughts, especially when things aren’t going as planned. Instead, focus on the positive aspects of your business and the progress you’ve made. Write down your favourite quotes and position them around the whiteboard to continually motivate you.
- Set realistic goals: When setting goals for the new financial year, be realistic and specific. Make sure your goals are achievable and align with your business vision. The first step is to define your financial goals for the new year. What do you want to achieve with your revenue, customer/product success, performance, and growth? Write down your goals on the whiteboard and prioritise them in order of importance.
- Monitor your progress: Keep your goals on track by creating a way to measure and record your progress throughout the year. Keep them somewhere central and give yourself and your team clear deadlines and timelines for the goals you set. This will help you stay on track and ensure you’re meeting your goals.
- Seek advice and stay flexible: As you progress, don’t be afraid to seek advice from trusted advisors, colleagues, or mentors. Their perspectives can help you see things from a different angle and provide valuable insights. Throughout the year, it is also important to remember that plans can change, so be prepared to adjust your goals and strategies as needed. Stay open to new opportunities and be willing to pivot when necessary.
The key to a successful planning session is to not lose the spark! If it means that you need to break down the planning into 3-morning sessions over a couple of weeks, do it! This way, you will get the best enthusiasm and commitment for the plan out of yourself and your team. The results of this will shine through when you start achieving your goals.
Making the business planning process enjoyable will help to ensure that you’re setting yourself up for success when striving towards your business goals for the new financial year and beyond.
