Cheers to another year! Whether you’ve just left your corporate job to pursue your business full time or are celebrating your fifth or 10^th year of operations, it’s highly recommended to conduct a year-end review for your business. Not only will it let you see the performance of your venture, but it will also help you to set your targets or goals for the next year.

After all, understanding the health of your business can give you the drive to pursue long-term goals, especially if you’re aiming for growth. But you might be wondering, where should I begin? To help you get started with your year-end review, here are some ways you can measure your business performance.

Also read: Recognising the 5 Stages of Small Business Growth

1. Know your numbers

Having an eye on your financials is essential to assess your business performance, which is valuable in achieving long-term success. Review your revenue and look at your general and administrative expenses by line item. Is there enough working capital for next year? How about your gross profit? Having a reliable accountant or finance team can help you in assessing your business. Better to set up a meeting with them and discuss about it. Carefully review your cash flow and income statement. In this way, you can have a clearer picture of where your money comes and goes.

Numbers can be intimidating. But if you desire for growth, you have to know your numbers so you can be more strategic moving forward.  

Take a step back and assess yourself and your business.  Be open to change, so you can grow and improve your performance. Celebrate your big and small wins and use it as motivation moving forward.

2. Evaluate your team

Although your employees should be given feedback frequently, conducting employee-performance evaluations at the end of the year is necessary for them and your business to grow. Did they manage to achieve their KPIs? If not, what went wrong? Are they under-performing? If yes, have you spent enough time with them to discuss their performance?  And if you have an employee who performs well, have you rewarded them already?

Your team will play a significant role in achieving your business goals. Even if you have the vision or the right direction, if you have the wrong people, it can lead you to nowhere.

3. Assess yourself as an entrepreneur

Of course, aside from checking your business and team’s performance, you also have to take time to evaluate yourself. What have you achieved from your goals? What went well? What are the areas or situations where you could have done better? If you are having a hard time conducting a self-evaluation, you can reach out to your advisor or other entrepreneurs who can be honest with you and can give feedback about you and your areas of improvement.
 

The end of the year is the best time to plan for the coming year. Take a step back and assess yourself and your business performance.  Be open to change, so you can grow and improve your performance. Celebrate your big and small wins and use it as motivation moving forward. There may have been setbacks this year but take these as learning opportunities.
 

Happy New Year! May this year be filled with business growth and success!

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