We’ve talked about giving your business plan a six month ‘health check’, how to look at the big picture and how to get your business to stay on track to achieve your goals for the year, but what about what you have already achieved?
You’ve worked for the last six months and your business shows it. Even if you have not yet achieved everything you wanted to in the past six months, you have still made some achievements. As the final part of the process of completing your six month review of your business plan, you should celebrate what you have achieved.
Go back to that helicopter viewpoint. Instead of looking forwards, this time look behind you. Look at where your business was at the start of the year. You could even find that your business has changed so much that your review entailed a substantial re-write of your business plan. When you look at the big picture, it is easier to see where you have been and how far your business has traveled over the past six months.
Next, drill down to the level of details. Look at each of your main goals for the year. As you calculate how close you are to reaching your goal, you are not only calculating how far you still have to go, but how far you have come. For example, if you have set your business an overall goal of growing by ten per cent, and you have grown by four per cent in the last six months, you can afford to celebrate this achievement. You may have to make some minor course changes to reach your overall goal, but that should not negate your sense of achievement in growing your business in six months.
Besides congratulating yourself for your business achievements, don’t forget to congratulate the others who have made your business success possible. You may want to share some celebration with your customers, without whom you would have no business. You may want to congratulate your customers on their business growth, especially if you offer a business to business service. If your service has helped your customers’ businesses to grow, you have a double reason to celebrate.
If you are a solopreneur, you often feel like you are the only involved in the business, but now is a great time to thank the people who support you by publicly celebrating your business achievements. Take your family or your spouse out for a special dinner to celebrate your business achievements.
If you have a business coach, don’t forget to give your coach a great big thank you by celebrating your achievements in your business in the past six months. Every one who supports you has helped you to achieve what you have in the past few months, so why not take some time out and allow your supporters the joy of celebrating your achievements with you.
Celebrating your achievements is important. It helps to inspire you and to renew your energy for the next six months. Celebrating your achievements gives you a positive focus to the task of reviewing your business plan. It is important to take some time out to celebrate your achievements, even if it is a simple celebration every six months when you give your business plan a ‘health check’.
When you review your business plan, don’t forget to notice and celebrate your achievements over the past six months. You have worked hard and you deserve to celebrate how far your business has moved in six busy months.
Photo Credit: 
photo credit: Mike the Mountain
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