Priorities, prep and planning: how to set goals for a successful year ahead

We all know the start of the year is a great time to set goals for the next 12 months — but really, you can do this at any stage! Using milestone moments to take stock is a great idea because it helps make sure you’re heading in the right direction, it re-energises you (often much more than you realise) and means you’re ready for any opportunities that might come your way… but as we all know, this can be easier said than done. Especially when you’re not sure where on earth to begin or your brain’s full of anxiety about what’s at stake if you don’t achieve what you need to! So what is the best way to plan successfully? And what is that one important thing we always seem to forget and kick ourselves for later? As a passionate planner, here are some tips I use to set my business up for success.
 

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail… Franklin was definitely onto something!

I’m very proud that 2024 marks my 20th year of championing small businesses, and if there’s one thing I’ve learnt, it’s that planning can make the difference between a good business and a brilliant one (or take you from just surviving to actually thriving). Being prepared can help keep you focused on what you ultimately want to achieve. It can help you mitigate risk (or be in a better position to take them). And most importantly, it puts you in control — and my goodness, as a founder, is there any greater feeling than that?! So how do you go about it? Well, I have several tried and tested techniques that work for me and are ready for you to put your own spin on. Let’s begin with the most important part: looking back.
 

Reflect on the last 12 months

Here’s a ‘Holly Hack’ that might help with this. Make a list of every aspect of your business from social media or your delivery and returns process, to your products and financials. Then write each of these on a separate piece of paper. What’s worked well and what hasn’t in each area (and be brutally honest)? For the money side of things, did you spend in the right places? Where are you leaking cash that you could save in the coming months? Do you need to reforecast maybe? Could your returns be managed more smoothly? If you’re selling on different platforms or through online stores, then integrating your eCommerce accounts could save you time and money by pulling through automatically and helping you to speed up all your parcel bookings (and by the way, Royal Mail’s Click & Drop service is said to be a game changer in this regard, so worth a look if you’ve not tried it). On social media, did you experiment? Does it take ages to create a Reel but you’re finding that engagement is low? Or what worked brilliantly and why? Don’t just think about the output (it delivered X) but the outcome (it enabled us to grow). Then look at the world and your customers. How have their needs changed? This isn’t about fixing things at this stage. It’s about writing down the facts, so that then you can ask yourself the following…
 

Ask yourself, “Am I still focusing on the right areas? Is the juice worth the squeeze?”

Did you get a good ROI (return on your investment) on the activities you tried? Are you still delivering what customers need and want or has this changed? Do you need to do more research? Do a proper deep dive and take the time now because your future self will thank you for it. Taking a retrospective look at achievements and challenges will highlight the lessons you’ve learnt, and give you the insight you need to recalibrate and move forwards. It will also help you spot areas of effectiveness so that you can make more of them. And do take a moment to celebrate your achievements. We are very often quick to judge our own failings aren’t we, but look at everything you tried and learnt. It’s very likely incredible!
 

Now take a moment to ‘get on the balcony’

Remind yourself of the bigger picture. What do you want long-term for your life and for your business? What are your end goals? Are you fulfilling them? Or are you sometimes finding that, if you were in a nightclub, you’re spending too much time on the dance floor (doing the doing) and not enough looking down at the overall picture from above to appreciate every aspect of what’s going on? If that’s the case, see how you can free up more time. For example, Royal Mail has all kinds of services to help small businesses — which could be as straightforward as using their Tracked service, so you can always let customers know the status of their order — with the peace of mind of having SMS and email notifications, a signature on delivery and even a photo showing exactly where it was delivered. It means you don’t ever have to waste time chasing things up. This is just one of a range of services available designed to help small businesses like yours — so you can focus more on the ‘balcony view’ and less on admin. Sometimes you need to come back to your overall vision to remember where you need to go (and then figure out how to get there).
 

What’s your North Star? Always come back to your mission and values

What’s that one thing you always come back to? What are the values that drive you that you have always believed in or the mission you want to achieve? Write them down. Let them guide you. This is what helps make sure you’re still in the driving seat and that the business isn’t driving you. One technique I’ve found that really works for Holly & Co is to give ourselves a ‘word of the year’. For 2024, ours was ‘reset’ for example. I know that this is ultimately what we want to achieve in the coming months and if I come out of this period of my business life having done that, we’ll be ready for the next stage, so this single thought will guide us for the next 365 days. What might your word be?
 

If you could achieve three things this coming year, what would they be?

This is where it pays to adopt a ‘growth mindset’ (believing that if you work hard, learn fast and remain dedicated and open, or flexible to progressing, it’s all achievable). What do you want your brand to become? What would you love to achieve financially? Which marketing techniques could you excel at to reach more people or really look after your existing customers? Focus on a few key goals to avoid spreading your resources too thin and be optimistic yet realistic (otherwise you’ll set yourself up to fail!). I’ve often found that the secret to success is then prioritising what’s important. Maybe try a little of what I call ‘ruthless prioritisation’ — where you draw a line between what really matters to do, and everything else that you could do? When you’re feeling overwhelmed you need to tighten that line so that you start your day with absolute clarity on the two or three things you absolutely must do. Everything else is then a bonus. That’s what moves the dial. Make a list of priorities based on the impact they will make, as well as the ease of doing them, and start there.
 

What would good look like and how can you measure this?

Set yourself some SMART goals (so Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound ones). Outline clearly where you want to excel and put timings and measurement metrics next to each (ie. I want to achieve a 25% increase in this area specifically by this time because it will help me do X). Then start to plan what you can test and learn from throughout the year. The secret is to put regular checkups in the diary now to hold yourself accountable and stay on track. It drives me crazy that after Christmas, we have all these incredible learnings, and then the rest of the year comes tumbling in like a whirlwind and we forget all our best intentions again by November. Save yourself the stress and prepare for the end of the year now, while it’s fresh in your mind. Work out how to make your business more efficient by leaning on other services that are available from others, too (again, Royal Mail might well be able to help in this regard. It’s worth looking up what they offer if you haven’t recently). You want to make your business fighting fit for when you need it most (which unless you sell ice cream, is probably at Christmas).
 

What will you start, stop or do more of to achieve your dreams?

Start, stop, continue. Make your list for each of these and be honest. What are your bad habits and how can you break them? What really isn’t working that you’ve sort of been hiding from admitting? Now is the time to rip the plaster off, face into it and put a stop to it. What’s blocking you from achieving your goals? Create boundaries if you need to and remember, nothing is impossible. Work through your challenges one by one and find a solution. Be resourceful. Be entrepreneurial. It’s what you were born for! Start small, too. What one thing could you start doing today to make a difference? Then build up from there. Identify any skills or knowledge gaps and start a learning schedule to dedicate time to fill these gaps each week. Build a support network around you to help keep you on track and that’s it. You’ve set yourself up for the year ahead. The tricky part is maintaining all of this of course but at least you’ll know that you’ve given yourself the very best possible opportunity to try. And I wish you all the luck!