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!

Snazzy Specs look good for the money

We like to support and encourage small businesses here on Bizoh. So when Snazzy Specs, a new online retailer of spectacles, offered us some glasses to review, we thought: "Why not?"

Andrew Knowles, freelance writer and founder of Bizoh, bought his first pair of reading glasses a year ago. He only uses them occasionally, but gets frustrated because he forgets to take them places. Having one or two spare pairs would be really useful.

That's where Snazzy Specs comes in handy. Each pair of men's reading glasses costs around £16 and, as a bonus, comes complete with a soft case, cleaning cloth and a neck cord.

Here's the verdict on four pairs - including feedback from Andrew's wife and teenage daughters.

Zebra: Animal print adds life to the most functional of items, and this pair of specs is no exception.

Verdict: 'Gok Wan' said the teenagers the moment this pair was slipped into place. Not that Andrew knew who this was.

Matisse: You don't want all your specs to look the same, do you? This unisex pair caught our eye because, well, it's not just Andrew who needs some spare glasses.

Verdict: Andrew's wife immediately staked her claim on these and the daughters confirmed that 'feminine' was the appropriate verb. This purple pair looked particularly good on the 15 year old, but she preferred to take the photos.

Fleet Street: Let's be honest: the name was part of the attraction here. But Andrew wanted to try a pair which was not completely framed.

Verdict: These created a funky, geeky look which could work well when Andrew's out and about talking to clients about social media.

Harvey: Thoughtful, serious glasses; black, with a touch of silver to show they mean business.

Verdict: Probably the best pair in the selection, well-balanced and supplying the mature, intelligent look that Andrew needs when he's writing. But do you agree?

Our overall impression is that Snazzy Specs provide great value for money. At £15.99 for most pairs, they're around a tenth of the price Andrew paid for his first pair of glasses.

He'll continue to prefer his original specs, because the frames are much thinner. But being reluctant to spend lots more on a back-up pair, he's pleased to discover that Snazzy Specs glasses provide an ideal solution.