4 Questions to Start the New Year
2024 is almost over and it is a great time to look at the year before it closes.
For the last 45+ years, I take the last week of December to reflect on the past year. I think about how the past 12 months went compared to what I had envisioned and planned for the year. Then I decide what I want to accomplish in the coming year and create a vision for the year ahead. I set both personal and business goals, and I create a strategic plan to reach them.
I have found that setting a target and creating a plan on how you are going to get there is the best way to accomplish what you want to achieve.
Review Your Why
With a whole new year ahead of us, it is a great time to re-examine why you are in your profession. As you get ready to set your business goals for 2025, it is helpful to review why you do what you do. You may think you know why you’re in business, but perhaps it has been years since you gave it some deliberate thought. Ask yourself these questions:
- What is my business mission?
Beyond simply making a living, what are my long-range professional goals? Do I wish to become the standard by which my competitors are judged? Is it my dream to help make the world a better place? - Where is my organization going?
Am I achieving my mission? Am I making plans to accomplish it? How can I change policies, procedures or personnel to improve my chances of achieving my mission? - What environment is my organization operating in?
What are the social, economic, and technological trends that affect the way I do business and my progress toward my goals? - What are my core competencies?
What do I like to do? What is it that I do better than my competitors? Is my business mission compatible with my values and aptitudes?
I have seen too many companies and business professionals make the mistake of trying to be all things to all people. Starting out with the fundamentally sound goal of finding a niche that will make them successful, they go astray by changing direction every time a customer or team member suggests a new product or service. The mission gets lost in a frantic scramble for business before the original idea ever gets a chance to pay off.
So, even if you think you know your mission, it can serve you well to pause periodically to analyze your business and, if necessary, refocus on your mission and philosophy.
The New Year symbolizes the chance for people to start fresh and move forward in bigger and better ways. By taking time to reflect on the past year and revisiting your reasons for being in your business, you can confidently move ahead with a fresh set of goals and a specific plan to achieve them. Remember, you cannot hit a target you are not aiming at.
What is your biggest goal for 2025? I would love to hear about it in the comments section.
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I plan to get back to being consistent. Emailing, snail mailing, phone calls and personal visits with prospective clients. The last three days of each month and the first three days of the current month will be spent reviewing and setting goals for that month. Do the same six things a thousand times instead of a thousand things six times.
I like it, thanks, Ruby. I am going to follow your example!
My business goal begins in the year 2025 with defining – ”who my ideal client/customer is?” and what to do to serve him very well than my competitor. Business has only two functions. That is sales and innovations only. The rest take money out of the company. Focusing on the life blood of the company. And that is sales and innovation!
In growing my business coaching company, my goal for 2025 is to help 15 service company owners move from 6 figure to 7 figure companies while retaining or improving profitability, culture and stability in their organizations.
My goal is to focus more on building my business through social media,news letters and reaching out to the community. I am a one person business and I have a lot to learn about technology.
My business is a two person team and we are in the same boat! We want to focus on our social media accounts this year to help build our business.
As a small business you need to be multi skilled to tackle all tasks required to be done. This year my goal is to grow the business back to where it was pre Covid so I can take on more staff to delegate more tasks and work slightly shorter hours. This will automatically assist me to have more time to work on the business and fulfil my personal health and wellbeing goals.
My goal to to have focused plans, with overview for each quarter, specifics for the month, and week. Open communication with team to divide and conquer. This will also help us, not go astray by changing direction every time a customer or team member suggests a new product or service.
My goal for 2025 is to be more intentional, by scheduling my time wisely, setting attainable goals, practicing gratitude by serving others, and being mindful, focusing solely on the task at hand.
CAN DO WORK lies in a niche industry. I formed my company because too many reliable American workers remain unemployed. That cohort represents special needs individuals with marketable skills everywhere in the US. Barely 20% of them receive government funded employment services to find best-fit employment. CDW attempts to fill that void with responsible guidance and direction to expand the nation’s workforce. CDW’s primary goal in 2025 involves business expansion by hiring new Job Developers to reach the 80% plus who can work, want to work and deserve to work, starting in NJ and growing from there.
Minha principal meta para 2025 é investir mais na minha saúde e bem-estar através da prática de exercícios físicos mais recorrentes.
Lido 28/2/2026