The Questions Every Business Owner Should Answer Before Next Year - Grow Your Local Business

Summary

Podcast Summary: Grow Your Local Business

Episode: The Questions Every Business Owner Should Answer Before Next Year
Host: Leslie Presnall
Release Date: December 10, 2024

Introduction

In this pivotal episode of Grow Your Local Business, host Leslie Presnall delves into the essential reflections business owners must undertake before ushering in the new year. Aimed at fostering both strategic growth and the right mindset, Leslie emphasizes the necessity of evaluating the past year's achievements and setbacks to build a robust foundation for the future.

The Importance of Reflecting on the Past Year

Leslie opens by highlighting the value of extracting lessons from the current year to propel business growth into the next. She stresses that understanding what worked and what didn’t is crucial for replicating successes and avoiding previous mistakes.

“I don't want you to just move into the new year without first slowing down and thinking about everything that happened this year and how much growth happened this year.”
— Leslie Presnall [01:21]

Ownership of Wins

A significant portion of the discussion revolves around taking full ownership of business successes. Leslie advises against attributing wins to external factors like luck or referrals, advocating instead for recognizing the strategies and efforts that led to those achievements.

“You are not allowed to say things like, well, that client just came to me from nowhere... because these things... almost dismiss how we created that result.”
— Leslie Presnall [02:15]

By owning successes, business owners can better understand their effective strategies, enabling them to replicate and scale these successes in the future.

Dealing with Not Meeting Goals

Leslie addresses the common scenario where business owners fall short of their goals. She warns against the tendency to overlook the past year's challenges in favor of hoping for a better outcome next year without a concrete plan.

“If we're not taking the time to look back... we end up disconnecting our years... you stay very powerless in your business that way.”
— Leslie Presnall [06:45]

Drawing parallels with football players reviewing game tapes, she underscores the importance of analyzing failures to improve performance moving forward.

Reflection Questions for Business Owners

To guide listeners through effective reflection, Leslie poses a series of introspective questions designed to uncover critical insights about their business operations over the past year. She encourages listeners to journal their responses for deeper understanding.

Identifying Successes and Wins

Leslie emphasizes starting with positive reflections to counteract the brain's natural inclination towards negativity. She advises listing all significant and minor wins, such as growth in social media presence, client acquisitions, revenue milestones, and participation in local events.

“When you are having fun, there's less resistance, your energy is high and you just show up in a more compelling way.”
— Leslie Presnall [12:30]

Identifying Challenges and Obstacles

Following the celebration of successes, Leslie shifts focus to the challenges faced during the year. She encourages business owners to openly acknowledge areas that were difficult, whether it be technology hurdles, content creation struggles, or sales obstacles.

“These are the things that you want to solve for in 2025. These are the things that you want to figure out ways to make easier next year.”
— Leslie Presnall [17:10]

By identifying these obstacles, listeners can begin devising strategies to overcome them in the upcoming year.

Developing Necessary Skills for Next Year

Leslie then transitions to discussing the skills business owners need to develop to achieve their next year’s goals. She categorizes these skills into areas such as technology, marketing, leadership, time management, and mindset.

“The answer to these questions will start to uncover your path forward into next year. Your answers are actual action items that you will take next year to grow your business and to grow as a business owner.”
— Leslie Presnall [24:05]

Leslie advises creating a concrete plan to acquire these skills, whether through learning, hiring, or systematizing business processes.

Actionable Steps for Business Growth

Summarizing the reflection process, Leslie reiterates the importance of:

Listing Wins: To recognize and leverage successful strategies.
Acknowledging Challenges: To identify areas needing improvement.
Planning Skill Development: To equip oneself with the necessary tools for future growth.

These steps are designed to transform reflections into actionable plans that drive business success.

Conclusion

Leslie wraps up the episode by encouraging business owners to dedicate time to this reflective exercise. She underscores that understanding past performance is key to strategic planning and sustained growth.

“Give yourself time to really go through this exercise and really see what you can uncover.”
— Leslie Presnall [28:50]

Leslie also invites listeners to explore her LocalPreneur Academy program for further support in becoming the go-to local business in their industry.

Notable Quotes

“You are not allowed to say things like, well, that client just came to me from nowhere... because these things... almost dismiss how we created that result.” — Leslie Presnall [02:15]
“If we're not taking the time to look back... we end up disconnecting our years... you stay very powerless in your business that way.” — Leslie Presnall [06:45]
“When you are having fun, there's less resistance, your energy is high and you just show up in a more compelling way.” — Leslie Presnall [12:30]
“These are the things that you want to solve for in 2025. These are the things that you want to figure out ways to make easier next year.” — Leslie Presnall [17:10]
“The answer to these questions will start to uncover your path forward into next year. Your answers are actual action items that you will take next year to grow your business and to grow as a business owner.” — Leslie Presnall [24:05]
“Give yourself time to really go through this exercise and really see what you can uncover.” — Leslie Presnall [28:50]

Final Thoughts

This episode serves as a comprehensive guide for business owners to critically evaluate their past year's performance, celebrate their successes, confront their challenges, and strategically plan for the future. Leslie Presnall's actionable advice and reflective questions provide a clear roadmap for turning insights into tangible business growth.

For more insights and to become the local go-to in your industry, explore Leslie Presnall's LocalPreneur Academy.

Transcript

A (0:01)

You are listening to the Grow youw Local Business podcast, where local marketing expert and life coach Leslie Presnol shares the strategies and the mindset to help you reach more people in your city and bring in a steady stream of clients. All right, let's dive in.

B (0:21)

Hello. Welcome to episode 102. I wanted to record this end of the year episode today to talk more about this current year before we move into next year. Because there's just so much value to extract from this year, so many lessons to be learned, so much that you can take into next year. And I don't want you to just move into the new year without first slowing down and thinking about everything that happened this year and how much growth happened this year. So if you're listening to this episode, the week it comes out, it is the second week of December in 2024. So it's almost the end of 2024. We're about to be in 2025. And as business owners, you are in one of two categories. You either hit your goal this year or you did not hit your goal this year. But either way, sometimes I find people goals and they're like, yes, I won. Moving on to the next thing, the next bigger thing. And they don't take time to really reflect on how they did it exactly. And what I have found is sometimes this turns into them not being really able to repeat it or do it faster and grow at a faster pace. And then they end up telling themselves like, it was a fluke, I can't do it again. I don't know how I did it to begin with. So we just want to slow down and know how you reached your goal, like, what did you do exactly to create your results this year? I always tell my clients that they are not allowed to say things like, well, that client just came to me from nowhere, or they, they just found me on Google, or they were just referred to me, or they were a repeat client. Because these things, the way we kind of say them, almost dismiss how we created that result, like it was out of our control, like it happened to us, versus we created that result. So I always have my clients take full ownership of their wins and trace everything back to how they created that. I actually have an entire podcast episode on taking full ownership of your WINS. That's episode 19. I'll link that up in the show notes. It can just be so empowering to know how. How you made something happen, how you created every win. This helps you create progress faster. It helps you leverage what's working versus Getting bogged down in what's not working. I find people are typically spending so much time doing things that aren't working versus doing more of what's working. And often this is because they aren't spending time to look at and notice what is working. So we just want to know exactly what you did to meet your goal this year. But on the flip side, the other thing I see is if you did not meet your goal this year, or maybe if you were really far off and you were feeling really defeated right now, and maybe even a lot of shame or a lot of disappointment, I see people really just wanting to move right into next year. Like, let's just forget about this year. I don't even want to think about it. It just doesn't count. There's this mentality that next year is going to be sparkly and new, so we just want to focus on that instead. And I totally get that. So often when we're not winning, we don't want to look back and see why. I always think of the football players who have to go back into the locker room when they lose and watch back their game. Like how excruciating that has to be. But that's how they become winners. That's how they are better next time when they go out on the field because they watched their tapes back, they watched every play, every move over and over in detail. And if we're not taking the time to look back and really look back at this past year and what worked and what didn't work and why we got our current results, in our business, we. We end up disconnecting our years. It's like we have January to December 2024 and kind of like whatever happens happens. And then we get a do over in the next 12 months and whatever happens happens. And then we get another do over and whatever happens happens. It's like this loop every 12 months. And you stay very powerless in your business that way. But when you can look back and really evaluate your year and reflect, how did I get results? What did I do really well? What did I not do so well? What can I do differently next year? That's where you start to become more powerful. That's where you start to have more control and strategy in the next year versus whatever happens happening. When we're not looking back at the past year before we go into the next year, we're really just setting a goal and kind of making a wish. Like we're hoping it will be different without a real plan or strategy to make it Different. Sometimes we love the idea of going into a new year with like a clean slate or like, you've closed the book on this year and you're opening a new one. But when we do that, we're not really bringing any of the last year with us. We're not bringing any of the lessons or the fails or the growth with us. So when you discredit what happened in the past year, say you don't know how you did it, or it didn't count, or I don't want to look back at any of it, it's really hard to figure out how to do better and when in the next year. So you really do want to bring so much of this year, this past year with you into next year, because you learned a lot, even if you failed a lot. You've heard the saying, you're either failing or you're winning. So even if you failed a ton, you figured out a lot of what didn't work. So it's really essential that you look back and get an accurate sense of where you currently stand in your business. How much growth was there? Where are you currently as a business owner? Where are you as a marketer? This way you can really uncover the steps that you need to take to get to next year's goal. So I want to ask you a few questions to think about, and if you're able to, you could even pause me after each question and write out your answers and just journal around it. I think you'll really uncover a lot that way versus just thinking about it. But do whatever you're able to do right now. Like if you're driving or out on a walk, then maybe you just listen now and. And then you could even come back and re listen to it and write out your answers as you go. What I would just do to start is really just do a reflection on here's what I know worked well this year and just write all about that. And then here's what did not work well this year. Here's things I tried that just didn't work. And then here's what I know I want to do differently going into next year. So I would just brainstorm journal on those. Just three questions right off. Here's what worked, here's what didn't. Here's what I want to do differently next year. But then I want to spend more time right now really looking at what worked. We definitely want to look at what worked this year. Your brain is hardwired to look for all the negativity. Like it wants to just focus on all the things that didn't work. So let's definitely spend some time showing your brain some wins first. So what were your biggest wins this year? Write out as many as you can think of. Think about your growth on social media, on your email list. Think about things people said to you, the clients you got, the revenue, milestones. Maybe you are featured in local media. Maybe you participated in local events. Like where were the successes and wins this year, big and small. List out as many as you can think of to show your brain all the wins. Then what was your biggest moneymaker this year? What product or service or event brought in the most revenue? Then what were your personal strengths and skills as the business owner? What were you just really good at in business? In working with your clients, maybe in your marketing or promoting your business? What are your personal strengths and skills? We want to know this because we want to really leverage these and then where did you just have the most fun? What felt fun in your business this year? Like for me, every Thursday on my weekly coaching calls with my clients, like, that just feels like fun. It doesn't feel like work at all. I have so much fun. It feels like I'm just hanging out and serving my clients. I leave every call feeling so energized. It's my favorite thing every single week. I love waking up every week and I'm like, yes, it's Thursday. I also have a ton of fun. Or I had a ton of fun this year hosting challenges. Like I did the local Instagram formula challenge twice this year. I hosted the local go to challenge twice this year. I just have so much fun whenever I am teaching trainings and challenges. Like, I'm just in my element. I love it. It energizes me. So where did you have the most fun in your business this year? We want to know because we want to do more of what's fun. Maybe you have a certain type of content that's more fun for you to create. Maybe there are certain events, networking things, maybe certain things in your marketing, certain things you do with your clients. Maybe certain seasons. Like think about just where and when did you have fun this year? When you are having fun, there's less resistance, your energy is high and you just show up in a more compelling way. You attract your best people when you're having fun. So we want to know when you're having fun so you can have even more fun next year. All right, so now what felt hard this year? Where did you just struggle to get things done? Were there Certain periods throughout the year that felt hard, or were there certain things that you tried to do that just felt hard? Maybe there was technology that felt hard, content creation that felt hard, selling certain things that felt hard. List out anything and everything that just felt hard. Like, get it all out. Because these are the things that you want to solve for in 2025. These are the things that you want to figure out ways to make easier next year. So maybe that means getting support or learning new skills, or hiring or even letting things go, or systematizing things, or just working more at something, giving yourself more time, adjusting something. So what felt hard? Another thing to think about, or maybe just another way to think about. The previous question is, what are your current biggest obstacles in your business? Again, these are things that you want to solve for. So obstacles or problems don't just stay problems. We want to find solutions. So, for example, a current obstacle may be like, I just don't know enough people. Like, my audience isn't big enough to make the income I want to make next year. Okay, great. Like, that's 100% solvable. Now it becomes actionable. You can make a list or a plan of ways that you can start meeting people every month. Maybe you even give yourself a goal. Like, I'm going to meet 100 new people this month, or I'm going to meet 15 new people this month. It doesn't matter. You get to decide. Like, you could engage more on social media, you can go to networking events, you can collaborate, you can start introducing yourself in the line at the grocery store. But not knowing enough people is an obstacle that has a very clear solution. Or maybe another example for an obstacle would be like, I just don't know how to do this thing. Like, I don't know how to create engaging content, or I don't know how to build a local email list, or I don't know how to talk about what I offer. I don't know how to set up a landing page. Like, whatever it is, these now become solvable things that you plan to learn how to do in 2025. So that brings me to my next question, which is what are the skills that you need to develop as a business owner next year? Maybe they are techie technology skills. Maybe it's marketing skills. Maybe there are CEO skills that you need. Maybe there are time management skills or calendaring skills. Maybe there are leadership skills or management skills. Maybe there are writing skills, copywriting skills, or money skills, money management skills, or even mindset skills. So what skills do you need and how can you make a plan to develop those skills? So the answer to these questions will start to uncover your path forward into next year. Your answers are actual action items that you will take next year to grow your business and to grow as a business owner. You'll identify things that you want to keep doing and really maximizing. You'll identify the things that you want to do differently and where your personal work is. Give yourself time to really go through this exercise and really see what you can uncover. All right my friends, I hope you found that helpful. I will see you back here next week. Hey, if you enjoyed today's episode, I want to invite you to check out my program, the LocalPreneur Academy. To me this is the only program for small business owners who want to become the local go to in their industry with a steady stream of clients. You can find more information@lesliepressnell.com and I'll see you inside.