End of year business review: reflect, refocus, revise and relax!

End of year business review

2012 has been another tough year for many businesses. As Christmas arrives and the New Year approaches, it is a great time to sit back and reflect.

Reflect
• Take a good look at your business and how it performed in 2012.
• What were your goals for 2012? Did you achieve them?
• What were the high points?
• What were the low points?
• How successful was your marketing strategy?
• How well did your business use social media?
• How was your work/life balance?
• Has your business adversely affected your health?

Refocus
 • Remind yourself about what is really important to you.
• What are your long term goals?
• What is the USP (unique selling point) of your business? Are you making the most of it?
• What are the goals for your business in 2013?
• What are the goals for your personal life and do these fit with your business goals?

 
Revise
• In the light of your reflections, do you need to amend your business plan?
• What actions can you take to build upon the successes of the past year?
• What actions can you take to avoid the repetition of the low points?
• Do you need to alter your marketing strategy or the way you use social media?
• Do you need to change the way you work to improve your health or relationships?

 
Relax 
 • Decide when you are going to work over Christmas and the New Year and be realistic about what you can achieve during those reduced hours.
• Set your out-of-office email message so that your clients know when you will be available over the holiday period.
• Don’t commit to deadlines which it will be hard to achieve and have the potential to ruin your Christmas break.
• Spend time with your family and friends and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas!

The search begins for the best businesses in Dorset and the UK

 
The Federation of Small Businesses and Streamline launch new UK Business Awards

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and Streamline have launched a new UK-wide business awards programme to promote and celebrate innovation and success in small businesses across the UK. The FSB Streamline UK Business Awards will run across 12 geographical areas around the UK, with area finalists selected to go through to a national final in April 2013.

Local businesses from across Wessex, Surrey, West Sussex, and Thames Valley are being invited to nominate themselves in four categories:

 · Business Innovation
 · Online Business of the Year
 · Micro Business of the Year
 · Young Entrepreneur of the Year

Four businesses (one for each category) from Wessex, Surrey, West Sussex, and Thames Valley will be selected by a panel of independent judges to go through to the national final. One of the four finalists will also be selected as winner and receive a cash prize of £500.

The Wessex, Surrey, West Sussex, and Thames Valley winner along with the three remaining category finalists will automatically be entered into the national final for their category, with £4,500 up for grabs for each national category winner. The judges will then select one overall business as winner of the FSB Streamline UK Business of the Year Award. The winner of this award will receive an additional £5,000, and a business consultancy package worth a further £5,000 to help them to grow their business.

The Business Innovation and Online Business of the Year awards are open to any UK registered businesses employing 250 people or less, whilst the Micro Business of the Year is open to any business that employs 10 employees or less. The Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award is open to anyone aged 30 or under on 31st December 2012. Full details of the entry criteria and how to enter are available at www.fsbstreamlineawards.co.uk. The closing date for entries is 31st December 2012.

The Awards have been designed by the FSB and Streamline to raise the profile of small businesses across the UK and to highlight the crucial role that they are playing in kick-starting and supporting the UK economy in the current economic crisis.

Darren Wilson, Managing Director, Streamline said: “We know from our work with tens of thousands of small businesses around the UK that there are so many incredible, innovative and ambitious small businesses out there, making a massive contribution to their local economies. We want these awards to highlight these businesses, and to recognise and reward excellence and innovation within businesses and individuals.”

Neil Eames, Development Manager for the FSB Wessex Region, said: “As with everything that we do, these awards are designed to promote the interests of small businesses and entrepreneurs all over the UK. We are really looking forward to using this awards programme as an opportunity to identify and engage with some of the most innovative and successful small businesses in the UK.”