End-of-Year Questions To Help Scale Your Small Business in 2023

2023 is only a few short weeks away! And if you’re like us, you’re ready to wind down for the year.

Many businesses take a well-deserved breather before launching into the New Year - either for a couple of weeks or just a few days.

If you’re one of our clients, you’ll know that we’ve booked our annual Holiday Shutdown from December 19th to January 2nd. This break allows our staff some time to spend with their loved ones over the holiday season. And we are so grateful for the opportunity to do so!

Whether you’re planning a holiday breather or readying your business to transition right into the New Year, there’s something you need to do first.

Reflect on your 2022 business year!

Before you close out for the year, take inventory of yourself, your team and your business. This helps you appreciate all you’ve gone through, learn from your mistakes and move forward in the right direction!

We’ve listed 10 year-end questions below to help you reflect on the year before launching into 2023!

What are some of your 2022 business accomplishments?

When the New Year comes around, many business owners immediately start thinking ahead.

New goals. New dreams. New accomplishments.

And while it’s important to look ahead to all that you hope to achieve, it’s also crucial to look behind you at all you’ve already accomplished.

What are some things you’ve accomplished in the last year? These could be things on your list of 2022 business goals. Or it could be something else entirely!

The key here is to not compare.

Just make a list of the things that have helped move your business forward!

We’ve included a list of examples below to help give you some ideas:

• I completed 5 large-scale projects without any setbacks.
• I received lots of positive feedback from happy customers.
• I didn’t surpass my spending goal.
• I onboarded 7 new clients.
• I expanded my team with 2 new hires.
• I learned a new skill.
• I hired an affordable digital marketing company.
• I took my vacation time when I needed it.

Nothing is off the table here! Just keep listing everything you can think of - big or small!

How did you implement or improve your work/life balance?

Healthy work/life balance is something our team at OSM has had to really focus on this year.

We switched entirely to remote work almost a year ago and have loved the flexibility it brought! But with the work-from-home adjustment has come the difficulties of separating our personal lives from our work lives.

While it has given us more time with our families, it can be hard to leave the computer at the end of the day and focus solely on our personal lives.

Some of the ways our team has implemented a healthy work/life balance while working from home include:

• Using a separate work laptop.
• Setting aside specific times in the day for meetings.
• Avoiding work emails and messages after hours.
• Creating routines around their family’s schedule.
• Clearly communicating their working hours with their family.
• Limiting work discussions at home.
• Taking lunch breaks away from their work devices.

All these small changes can drastically help improve the work/life balance at home.

Have you taken steps to improve your work/life balance? Have they worked well for you, your family and your business?

If so, keep going! But if not, try implementing some of the above tactics! Keep in mind they may not be practical or applicable to everyone. So be sure to pick and choose what strategies work best for you!

Did you get support when you needed it?

How many roles are you juggling right now? Social Media Coordinator, SEO Specialist, Financial Advisor, Accountant?

As business owners, it’s only natural for us to want to take the lead. But there’s power in knowing when we need more support.

The three most practical ways of getting support are:

1. Expanding your team.
2. Learning how to delegate effectively.
3. Investing in a business coach.

Each of these strategies plays a role in supporting you as the business owner.

Let’s face it, as business owners, we can easily get sucked into working IN our businesses. But once that happens, the growth of our company is no longer the priority.

Getting the support we need can help reduce our workload, ensure we’re moving in the right direction and free up our time! So we can keep focusing on growing our business rather than just keeping it afloat.

Did you get support when you needed it this past year? Or were there some areas that you tried to carry all the weight yourself?

What worked well? What didn’t?

At the beginning of 2022, you probably came up with a series of business goals you wanted to achieve by the end of the year. Maybe they applied to finances, time management or performance.

Then, over the year, you’ve implemented numerous strategies to help you achieve those goals.

When looking back over the year, can you identify some of the goals and strategies that worked well for you? And which didn’t?

For example, maybe you made a goal of onboarding 10 new clients in 2022.

If you succeeded, was your team able to handle the additional workload?

If you didn't succeed then what was holding you back?

Knowing what works for you and your team can help you create realistic future goals.

What is your biggest disappointment?

This question isn’t meant to be a downer or to make you feel guilty. It's to help you reflect on the previous year from an honest, productive perspective.

Is there anything you need to forgive yourself for in the past year? Whether that be a mistake or something you weren’t able to achieve?

Mistakes are normal. And as a business owner, the ones you made this year probably won’t be your last. These mistakes or unexpected turns of events are how we grow as flexible, problem-solving business owners!!

In the words of Thomas Edison,

“I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”

Forgiving yourself for any of the disappointments in 2022 can put you in a better mental mindset for the new year!

What are you most proud of?

This question can apply to any number of things - like an award or even a personal sense of accomplishment.

We can truly be our own worst critics, which is why it’s vital for us to learn how to appreciate ourselves.

Is there a moment in the past year that made you particularly proud? Give yourself some credit for it! You deserve to appreciate these moments!

What advice would you give yourself at the beginning of 2022 after seeing how the year actually played out?

This one is a doozie, but it’s incredibly impactful!

Reflecting on the previous year gives you a great vantage point. You can now see things from the big picture perspective rather than bit by bit.

Would you remind yourself to be more optimistic?

To have more faith in your team?

To spend more time with your family?

To give yourself more grace?

Try to apply the advice you would have given yourself in 2022 to this year! This bigger-picture perspective is a great way to enter 2023.

A Time To Look Back And a Time To Look Forward

Looking back with the wisdom of today gives you a valuable perspective for tomorrow!

Once you’ve had a chance to look back at the incredible moments of 2022, you can move forward into the fresh, open canvas of 2023!

What will this year have in store for you?