The end of the year is also the beginning of the new. In ancient times, the solstice festivals coincided with the longest night of the year, when the days began to get longer, and the seasons started over. This year can be the same for you.
Today, we stay up on New Year’s Eve, have parties, and make promises to change our eating habits or exercise routine. Those are part of the fun of New Year’s, but it is also a good time to review your business strategy, especially if you’re a sole practitioner or have a small business like our Providers. Now is a good time to take stock and set some goals for the upcoming year.
Review Your Past Performance
Before setting your future goals, review how this past year has been. Did you reach all your targets for clients, cases, or finances? Did you make costs, or better still, make a profit? Were you happy with your work-life balance, or did you have too much of one or the other?
Once you’ve found where you are satisfied, and where you need to improve, you can set your goals for the upcoming year. Whatever you’ve been doing that works can always get better, but if you’re doing things that aren’t working, you should start there and see what needs help.
Assess Your Online Presence
If you have a website or social media presence, you can ask for an annual performance review, or do one yourself. Google, Facebook and other media sites have tools that will show you basic traffic to your site during the past year. You don’t need to go overboard, but now is a good time to update your page or add some new material to your social media.
If you’re not an SEO guru, you can find advice on how to improve your content online. Even if you’re happy with the amount of traffic you’re getting from your existing content, it never hurts to switch things up a little. Add a blog or link to a fellow Provider’s webpage. More visibility leads to increased visits to your page.
Increase Your Networking
If your internet presence is satisfactory, consider your real-world outreach. It’s easy to forget that our profession takes place face-to-face, and we need old fashioned networking just as much as we need the online variety. Mediation networks can only go so far remotely.
Your networking goals can include real and virtual conferencing, improving your visibility on platforms like LinkedIn (an important platform for legal professionals), and sharing expertise with related professionals. Family law is a wide legal field, and speaking about conflict-free divorce at a women’s conference is a good way to share your knowledge.
Whatever method you use to expand your brand, be sure you share your connections as well. Networking must work in both directions to be effective.
Audit Your Cash Flow
Most small business owners say at some point “I need to make more money,” or “I need to cut costs.” That’s when everyone stops and goes on with the business of being in business. This year, your goal will be more specific. How much more money do you need? Which costs will you cut?
- Cutting costs for a one-person office can be tricky. Often, we have no expenses to cut. That said, you may be surprised where some of your money is going. Sit down with your year’s bank statements and highlight all your office costs. Circle the things you don’t really need: app subscriptions you don’t use, software upgrades you forgot you pay for. Then cancel those. You may be surprised at how much you save.
- Ask how much more you really need. If you find yourself coming up just a little short each month, and cutting a few costs won’t do it, how many more clients do you need to make up the shortfall? Be realistic. Ask yourself if you can get that many more clients into your work week.
If you find that you can’t cut costs enough to meet your current income, then it’s time to sit down with a financial planner and make a business budget. Not everyone has the financial chops to create a budget, but most of us have the discipline to follow one. Make that part of your yearly plan.
Plan a Break
It sounds strange to “plan a break,” but too many single business owners forget to do that. Instead, they work for weeks, months, even years until they hate their work and collapse from exhaustion. Often by that point their business is in shambles anyway, and if they come back, there’s nothing to salvage.
We all love our work. We opted out of the business world because we didn’t want to spend our time working for someone else at a job we didn’t feel invested in. That means there isn’t anyone else to manage the nuts and bolts of the business except us.
Work-life balance isn’t just for wage slaves. It means everyone. Just because you love your job 350 days a year doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take 16 off to do something you love just as much. Part of your performance goals and cash flow assessment should include deciding where you want to go this year, and how much you can afford to spend. If this year’s income won’t support Bali, maybe Hawaii will do. But you must plan a break. Why do all this work if not for a great vacation?
Talk to Us
The Divorce With Dignity Network has Providers that have been through all this before. We know the ins and outs of juggling a one-person office and figuring out your annual goals. If you need a hand with your juggling act, we have someone here who has one to lend.
Now that the new year is upon us, it’s time for fizzy drinks and new resolutions. Join us and become part of the Divorce With Dignity Network. Schedule your complimentary Success-Strategy Consultation today!
