Personally, I love to purge everything in my office, home and refrigerator before each new year hits. There is something symbolic (and probably clichéd) about clearing out the old to make space for the new. I also just need to feel like I am surrounded by slightly less chaos before jumping into yet another busy season.
This is the time to really think about the who, what, where, when, how and why of your business. Setting goals too often becomes something we feel we should or have to do. So, we raise our fees 3% and call it a goal to increase profit margins.
But what do you really want to see change in your practice this year?
After a challenging couple of tax seasons, we are seeing practitioners leave public practice at an alarming rate, without enough accounting graduates to backfill those roles. I would love to see more firm partners really dive into company culture this year. Instead of all of us talking about work-life balance, how can we actualize it in our firms? This isn’t a one size fits all question to be answered.
Sometimes the best goal is saying “no” more often to the things that are not actually getting you any closer to the goals you really want to achieve.
Each of us must commit to looking at our staffing needs, training and development gaps, workflow inefficiencies and re-assessing our client lists to reach the ultimate goal of a less burnt-out team. But it is a great goal for the new year!
Don’t get stuck in the stereotypical goal of wanting more money or more clients either. Strive to increase the number of ideal clients in your practice that are a perfect fit for your ideal client avatar. Simply adding work to the equation isn’t going to breathe life into your firm, but a shift in workload to the clients that fit your practice the best will support growth goals in other areas as well.
It cannot hurt to create a vision board. I love a vision board hanging above my desk all year. It always contains a nice blend of family and business goals, reminding me that my focus has to stay balanced on both in order for me to truly be successful. Having the things that are most important to you, right in front of you every day can help keep you focused when you have to make decisions about how to spend your time.
Sometimes the best goal is saying “no” more often to the things that are not actually getting you any closer to the goals you really want to achieve.
