2022 Review & 2023 Goal Setting

It's this time of the year again when we reflect at the end of a year and set goals/ make resolutions for the following year.

One piece of advice that I received about reviewing how a situation or performance has gone is to first, look at what went well, then what could be improved and what I would do differently next time.

What went well...

And which I have been stating in previous posts is that I reconnected with my Purpose during 2022. At the beginning of the year I went about trying to set up alliances because I believed that this was the key to creating a sustainable business model.

How did I manage to reconnect with my Purpose? I participated in a mentorship programme, which as well as allocating each participant to a mentor, connected us to fellow participants so we each could receive guidance not only from the mentor directly, but also from fellow peers. I would highly recommend having networks as a business owner to get your ideas soundboarded and to surround yourself with people who can help you keep accountable for actions you intend to take for your business.

As a direct consequence of being accountable to my mentor and peers, it forced me to interrogate myself about the soundness of my initial goal of pursuing alliances. By the middle of the year, I concluded that it was not alliances that I needed. What I needed was being very clear on my purpose and to realign my actions to my Purpose. This should have been my priority.

This brings me onto what could have been improved...

I would say my previous approach to goal setting and to action taking. Everyone tries to be helpful by providing suggestions, solicited or unsolicited. This advice can come from friends, family and acquaintances who may or may not be entrepreneurs themselves. I admit at the beginning of the year that I got lost in the sea of advice, which led me onto the alliances track.

This is what I will do differently for next time...

What I needed to do was to carefully sift through and filter the advice against my Purpose and then use my Purpose to determine if I should incorporate the advice or not.

2023 Goal Setting...

I have been reading the emails and posts sent in the past weeks from entrepreneurs that I have been following. Carrie Green of the Female Entrepreneurs Association suggests having a word for the year. My word for 2023 will be Focus. Focus to ensure that I am following through to align all actions in my business to my Purpose.

Amber Miller of Done for You Divas in her email gave 10 reasons why entrepreneurs fail to accomplish their goals. Among the reasons are lack of passion about the goal, lack of focus, lack of a plan, unrealistic goals and not having the right support.

Andy Ayim of Angel Investing School spoke about an alternative concept to the SMART framework, which tends to be the traditional approach to goal setting. This framework is called PACT (Purposeful, Actionable, Continuous and Trackable). Andy explains that PACT goals look at "direction over speed".

I recommend finding others who can inspire you on your entrepreneurial journey. I have listed three people who I am following. Most importantly, don't forget to believe in yourself when creating your 2023 goals!

Please reach out to me via the Contact Form on the website for advice and support with goal setting and action planning, especially as relates to winning and retaining customers.

Edit: Link to Andy Ayim's post on the PACT framework for goal setting: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/andyayim_blogs-smartgoals-goalsetting-activity-7008732320253812737-rZOJ