But time goes by, you spend your time – of course – on running your business, so why not take some time to review your business? It’s an opportunity to see how the market has changed – are there new threats, or new opportunities? How is your cashflow doing, what reserves do you have? And what about long-term – do you have an exit plan, and is still the right one?

So what should you look at?

• Your services

You might think this is obvious – and it might be – but take the time to think about what your company does. Are there services that you offer that you no longer should? Are they still profitable? Do you still have the skills for them? Or are there things that you could offer but do not do so? Would they be profitable?

• Market analysis

‍You are probably aware of various tools such as a SWOT analysis, but put very simply all you need to do is look at the market – how many customers might there be? What are they looking for? How much would they pay? Who offers those services, and is there an opportunity for you to offer those? Similarly, is it possible or likely that competitors will start to offer the services you do? If so, what will that mean for you?

Do you operate in a particular locality, or nationally? Should you continue to operate in that way, or would you be better to look at different options?

• Team and structure‍

Have you got the right people, doing the right things? Do you need more people? Do you need to train or upskill your team (or yourself)?

• Mission and goals

‍What are you trying to achieve? Again, this might seem obvious, but there is nothing like writing it down for focussing your mind and making you think about what you want to achieve, whether that is the right thing, and how you are going to do it.

• Marketing plan‍

Often thought of as something complicated, or something that will take care of itself. It is neither. But it is important. Quite simply, the marketing plan identifies what you are going to offer, the customers you will target, and how you will do it. It should include a SWOT analysis, or similar, and look at where and how you will promote your services, and how much money you expect to spend.

• Financial plan

‍We’ve all got one of these, haven’t we? Haven’t we?

Again, it doesn’t need to be complicated, but why wouldn’t you at least have an idea of how much you expect to earn, and how much you expect to spend, month by month and year by year?

What about taxes and any future expenses– have you planned for those?

• Exit strategy

You might think it is a long way off – or maybe it is something you’d like to do soon – but you should think about what you will do when you retire. Will you sell the business? If so, set yourself a target for what that is worth. Will you need that money to fund your retirement, or to do something else? Will you pass it to your family? Do you have a business partner? Would you want one?

Again, this should not be complicated, but the sooner you think about it – and write it down – the easier it will be.

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