It’s that time of year – holiday decorations are going up, we’re starting to think about what to buy for the ones we love, and planning time for an annual business review. They say you can’t know where you are going unless you know where you’ve been. And doing an annual business review might not be the most fun thing ever (unless you’re a business nerd like me!), but it can be a really powerful tool! Doing this helps you figure out where your business has been this year, and figuring out improvements for the new year.
Annual Business Review
I’m taking this morning to do the annual business review for Fresh Look Photography. I’ll be crunching numbers, looking at session counts, and assessing how I can improve in 2017.
I would start out by asking yourself what you want to achieve from this annual business review:
- An improved editing workflow?
- More client bookings?
- Fewer hours at the computer?
- Stronger vendor relationships?
Another thing to look at is what is NOT working in your business or areas you struggle with?
- Disorganized client workflow (not knowing what the next task is)
- Not making enough income
- Inconsistent branding/web presence
- Taking on more than you can accomplish and failing to deliver
Let me also say that there is no “one size fits all” when it comes to looking at your business. This list of questions is meant to act as a jumping off point for you to delve deeper into the your business.
- Does my business push me or pull me towards the things I value in life?
- Who are my clients? Where do they live? Where do they shop?
- What are some things I could improve on when it comes to running my business?
- What are the things I am going to do to change those things?
- What am I doing right with my business?
- What are some of the company’s goals and its vision for the next year?
- What am I most afraid of?
- Are my fears legitimate or am I allowing the fear of failure to create irrational fears?
- Social Stats – how is social media impacting my business?
Facebook Followers –
Twitter Followers –
Instagram Followers –
Pinterest Followers – - What Are some projects I want to pursue in the coming year?
Setting aside time and doing an annual business review is one of the best investments you can make back into your business. It is too easy to get caught up in the day to day workings of running our business, so by dedicating this time to improving, you will really have a roadmap for the coming year so all your dreams can come true!
Take Your Business to the Next Level!
If you are a photographer in need of business mentoring, I would love to help you out in your photographic journey! Fresh Look Photography offers private mentoring to help with any aspect of running your business, and we’d love to chat with you! Feel free to drop a comment below or click the { Contact Me } button and we will get rocking and rolling!
Great content, thanks for a jumping off point!
You are so welcome Christy!
I’d start with your bullet #6 from the top
What’s your vision statement?
What’s your mission statement?
Do they need to be revised?
Once those are visited I think you’ve got a great set of review items.
Turn “fears” into “risks” by evaluating the costs, potential positive and negative outcomes of each. Then it’s just a business decision.
Develop objective quality evidence (metrics) that you can use to evaluate subjective terms like more, enough, inconsistent.
Set measurable goals to help evaluate success (or not) in each area. “You can’t manage what you don’t measure.”
I’m glad you spend time thinking about the strategic side of your business, Judith. I see so many that don’t then wonder why their small business failed. Thanks so much for sharing.
These are some great suggestions Jim! I agree with what you’re saying that you should definitely start with a vision and mission statement, I guess I don’t think about those too much anymore since I’ve already written them!
I am absolutely setting measurable goals and it’s awesome to be able to see how I crushed it (or need a little extra work!).
Keep kicking butt and taking names!