Annual Business Planning Tips

The end of another year is upon us and it’s a very logical time of year to review and reflect. In the winter, the earth is naturally in a more dormant, quiet phase and perhaps we can heed it’s cues in business and on our exercise mats and take a break. According to the book When by Daniel Pink (a book on the scientific secrets of good timing), us humans LOVE a good deadline and the rolling of the calendar to another year seems to motivate us extra. Rather than set goals that aren’t ours or get swept into the new year, new year marketing smorgasbord, how can we make sure we spend our time in the next phase, on that which matters most? I love to use my own birthday as my reset time and often spend a few days alone journaling and hiking but even I can’t resist the pull of making annual goals for my businesses around January 1.

The following are my top 3 business strategies that helped me and my fitness businesses (and several of my clients) grow 🪴 in 2023 and these are the strategies that I keep coming back to year after year - even if they take a different flavor each year. Perhaps the following ideas can help you as you set intentions for the next phase.

Do Something New

Do something new that is a bit of a reach. Something that scares you just a smidge and puts your energy out into the world in a different way. The first time I hosted my own yoga teacher training at my yoga studio was so daunting. I had teachers who weren’t supportive, I had to lighten my weekly class schedule so I could spend time writing and creating content, marketing, and getting our program approved by yoga alliance. It was so worth it though! Both financially and emotionally it felt like such a win afterwards. This last year I hosted my first solo retreat and I’m hosting another first time event next year. What new thing can you try this year?

Always Learning

Dedicate yourself to learning and growing continually. This is one of my personal core values that has served me so well in this life. This last year I worked with a career coach that was outside of my industry but who had insight and perspective that felt refreshing for me. I joined a mastermind with like-minded business friends. I attended new and different conferences. I invested energy, money, and time. I set weekly reading goals. All of this added up to good growth, change, and mindset shifts that were necessary and felt good. In what ways are you dedicated to learning - daily, weekly, monthly, annually? Can you create any new commitments or habits to keep you on track with this?

Lead With Value

Dive into your clients needs and wants more and update all communications accordingly. I personally spent A LOT of time editing and rewriting every single page of my websites to be sure that I was leading with value for my clients. I love, love, love this article from Hubspot which helped me better understand Value Proposition and define my unique value for each of my businesses. Once I took some time to really think about the benefits and pain points of my clients, the words and feelings related to them, and their headspace when they find me - All the marketing copy became a lot easier to write and a lot more inspiring to read. This has translated beautifully for several of myself and several of my clients as we connect better and update their auto e-mails and websites accordingly.

I hope you too are looking forward to another year of growth, wellness, and personal development. Lets immerse ourselves in an environment where passion meets profit, where health and wealth are not mutually exclusive, and where the future of fitness is not just imagined but realized! -Roxy