Reflection - a vital part of your business planning process

10 Dec

What 2021 taught me and how it'll change what I do in 2022

Ooooooo, there’s a touch of prose in that sub heading that was entirely accidental - but I like it! Speaking of accidents, that's something I’ll be helping people make less of in 2022.

When I sat down to draft this article, there wasn’t much order or coherence - more a vomit of my thoughts onto the page! I knew that I wanted to extract this year’s lessons and learning points so that I could share how I (and you) can ‘snog, marry or avoid’ them next year.

The first draft was 2684 words! Yikes!

You’ll be pleased to hear that this is a much trimmed version with links to other articles if your curiosity is piqued and you’d like to find out more.

So, without further ado: let’s see what 2021 has yielded and how that will influence my business plan for 2022.

Increasing reach in challenging times

Like many others, I had already taken my services online in 2020 but, what next?

The watch word of 2021 has, for myself and many others, been intentionality.

Whereas much of 2020 saw the world scrambling to adapt, pivot and survive as the pandemic took hold, 2021 was the point at which we had to stop reacting or living with the results of knee-jerk decisions. Instead, we started making intentional decisions, turning them into proactive next steps. All whilst still living in extremely uncertain times (I’m looking at you Omicron)!

Having seen a whole array of online delivery - the good, the bad and the downright laughable - I spotted, as a result of working with a coach myself, that I could help business owners transition to be as amazing online as they were (pre-pandemic) in real life. This resulted in me wanting to help folks create high value online (or hybrid) businesses capable of competing with those who have been operating extremely profitably online for many years. Plus, helping them to step things up several levels, saying goodbye to ‘winging it’ online with dodgy sound, poor quality visuals and distracting background noises (a small glimpse inside my course!).

But I wasn’t just looking outwards, being super judgy about what others were doing. In fact, whilst I was observing this going on “over here”, I was taking a shot of my own medicine by levelling up my approach to the creation of my online course, “Host Like a Hero” and its bitesize sibling “The Hybrid Hero”. Because increasing my reach depended on having great quality products to offer.

Drifting slightly into the next section’s topic, the opportunity to participate in the Government’s national Help to Grow: Management programme was a rewarding experience during this year. Alongside my role as a mentor and tutor, it was an honour to see the delegates bloom as the programme went on; becoming adept at recognising the opportunities for change within their businesses as well as spotting how they would need to change, grow or adapt within their role to make it happen.

An unexpected outcome of working on this programme is that I was working alongside exactly the kind of businesses that my own business is aligned to. All round, it’s been a really good fit for me and the delegates whilst opening the door to further opportunities for the future.

And this couldn’t be an accurate reflection of ways I’ve been able to increase my reach this year without a nod to my mate TEDx Southampton. As opportunities go, this is a cracking example of something that’s well. If you’ve read this article you’ll already know that the lead up to the event was quite a journey. But it’s given me some fresh ideas of ways to use what I’ve learned to help others.

If you’re considering your own TEDx journey, why not pick my brains?

Strengthening reputation

All businesses, large or small, rely on reputation. When Tesco suffered a cyber attack earlier this year, shoppers headed in their droves to other retailers. Or to look further back - the devastating implosion triggered by Gerald Ratner’s comments about the quality of their products!

But when you’re a sole trader or SME, building that reputation can be more challenging. You don’t have the cash for endless, fancy ads. You’re competing against a whole load of digital noise and doing that whilst also delivering the products or services that earn you cash and pay the bills!

This means you have to be very intentional about the steps you take to build and strengthen your reputation. There’s that word again.

From my own perspective, both Help to Grow: Management and TEDx Southampton were opportunities that aligned well with my business goals - reinforce my credibility and enhance my reputation. And they are both opportunities that came about largely because I harnessed the power of my network, thus opening doors to not just TEDx but also working with both the University of Portsmouth and the University of Winchester. My sincere thanks go to those in my network who made this possible.

Creating resilient revenue streams

2021 has been another tough year for those working in learning and development (L&D) professions. It’s widely accepted that L&D budgets are often an early casualty of a cash crisis which means that I’ve had to get creative about securing meaningful work. That said, I consider myself fortunate to still have a business, let alone have achieved year on year business growth.

Which leads me nicely onto how, as small business owners, we evaluate return on investment (ROI). Or rather, does everything need to turn an immediate profit in order for you to keep doing it?

For example, I invested heavily in order to get Host Like a Hero professionally filmed, edited, produced and hosted because I thought that was important to role model excellence. But, at this point, the course isn’t yet profitable.

Was that a wise business decision for me?
Are some of our business decisions right for their contribution to our reach and reputation even though they don’t generate a profit?

Maybe courses like Host Like a Hero and The Hybrid Hero are less about revenue, but more about the conversations they’ve opened with people who wouldn't ordinarily cross my path.

So when it comes to ROI, as business leaders we sometimes need to take a helicopter view in order to accurately evaluate the value of an activity instead of simply the cost.

Starting 2022 with clarity and intention

So with this all in mind, what will I do differently next year?

Personally - I’ll be taking much more of my own medicine. By which I mean that I haven't previously had anything that I could really describe as a business plan. It's all been a bit ad hoc - in my head there’s been a plan. But in 2022 I'm going to be much more intentional about my planning, which of course will then influence not just my activity, but my marketing strategy, marketing plan and the activities I undertake.

And that way I can really get a sense of the ROI of my activity.

So I think that means intentionality will give way to being consistently planful.

In line with that, I will be implementing learning from a course I recently attended called “Busyness to business” and, in turn, using that to help business owners just like me stop being busy and start being much more structured about running their business.

As an example, I've already changed my client experience process. That has meant making changes to a whole bunch of things on my website, within my sales process and even in how I speak to the marketplace. All in all - lots going on that I will be able to use in my work with other business leaders.

If you’d like to start 2022 with clarity and intention, why not book a complimentary introductory call with me here and let’s start the new year strong.