So you started the year with a lot of big goals…but did you set time to check in and review those goals throughout the year?

We all have big goals — especially when a new year starts.

You wanted to make a splash right out of the gate. Launch something ASAP and rock your business socks off!

So, what happened? Did you launch? Did you reach your goals? Did things turn out as you expected? Better? Or…maybe worse?

A few good reasons to stop and do you own review

If you’re someone who sets goals for your business (which you should definitely do), it’s important to do regular review so you can:

• acknowledge when something works
• pivot if something isn’t working
• record the ongoing list of these things
• plan out the next period of time
• reward yourself
• share what you learned with others

And so, that’s why I decided to jump the gun a little on my normal quarterly reviews and share a little bit about what happened in January and February in my business.

Follow along and to do a quick review yourself!

Every review consists of some basic questions…this is my way of starting the “conversation” with myself. You could do this exercise with your business bestie – have them ask you the questions and you them. Record the convo too… and allow them to weigh in on what happened.

What were your goals for {insert month} January and February?

In November, I started to map out my 2016. I had some big goals for the beginning of the year.

I know I’m not alone in this because I talked to a bunch of you who were doing what I was doing… launching in January! I love piggy-backing on the energy that exists during certain times of the year like New Years…to help me reach my goals!

Here’s what I had on my list of “want to accomplish”:

• Launch in January
• Create 30-Day launch challenge for my free Facebook group
• Present 2 webinars by the end of January
• Close the launch by 2/16
• Start Fearless Launching class on 2/22
• Have a team helping me through the whole thing

What are some of the actions did I plan to make sure that all of this was possible?

• Periscope daily during the challenge
• Create a simple guidebook, printable insert and graphic for group members and a few emails to people who signed up.
• Gather case studies starting in November for the sales site.
• Do 2 webinars
• Run Facebook Ads to lead magnet to build the list and get engagement with all activities
• Regular blogging
• Map out the emails in advance for webinar and the launch
• Email weekly to affiliates before and during the launch

How did these actions pan out in reality?

• Being on Scope daily was tough – won’t be doing that again to that level
• Guidebook and materials was fun – Facebook group was amazing, grew A LOT and SUPER HAPPY about engagement in the group now.
• Case studies were gathered but ran out of time to turn them into full pages on the sales site.
• Did 2 webinars but didn’t promote nearly enough…the conversion was always about 10-15% …Didn’t get a ton of results from the webinars alone, so next time I’ll spend more time ramping up to those and inviting people. Plus, I need to review the topics people really want to hear about and learn more about.
• Blogging regularly is always tough for me for some reason – ready to get ahead of the curve because I want my site to be more of a resource where people who are looking for advice can go and actually get help, advice, recommendations.
• Emails were mostly mapped out but then I changed some mid-stream which is never really good.
• My trip to San Diego should have been planned out more. This broke the flow of the launch big time.
• Affiliates didn’t get nearly enough attention at all. Will be following up with them for ongoing opportunities to promote instead of just for the bigger launch.
• Overall – this was the most draining launch ever. We’ll get into that below.

Are you still with me?

Even if you’re not a data or numbers or analytics freak (which you may be eventually), grab the biz review template below to do a review like mine:

What tools did you use? How did the systems work? Any major issues?

I took a look at the tools I was using…and made some much needed cuts. Not because I can’t AFFORD THEM…but because I don’t want to waste money on overlapping tools or redundant things. You can read the various tools I’ve used to run my biz in the past here, but know that I routinely go through this list and update.

Leadpages

Infusionsoft

SumoMe

GoToWebinar

Meet Edgar

Coschedule

Google Apps

Charmed Life Planner

Leuchturrm 1917

Asana

Bullet Journal for ideas

Charmed Life Planner for project planning and daily task tracking

Asana for project management

These are the main tools I use and are still working as we move into March!

What was really going on in the background that no one really saw and had an impact on what was completed, which goals were reached and the results overall?

• team issues – yes I was struggling to get people to take on responsibility – I take the role of the one who’s fault it is…but someone people are truly not able to take ownership and do the work!
• Personal life stuff – lots of changes I’ll share soon, but they are happening now so I need to get through them first and process
• Lots of anxiety and self-pressure
• tech issues with infusionsoft, my website, and various plugins failing lol.
• Daughter is reeling because of all the turmoil at home – and whatever mommy feels, mila feels

However, thankfully, there were some surprising things that actually gave me a break and made me feel so much better!

• My sister came for an amazing visit and I haven’t laughed so much in a very long time. We’re talking losing control of your bodily functions laughing…(well almost)
• Planned a long week away with family at the Traffic & Conversion Summit
• Got to meet one of my Biz Besties Hilary Rushford

What could I have done differently?

Now – I could have delayed the launch…and I have told people who are having personal problems or challenges to do that. I’ve worked with people who I watched cancel launches because it just didn’t feel right. Big names. Ones that you might be shocked to see.

I could have, but I know that last year I waited to launch FL until May. That means that the bulk of my income didn’t happen until mid-year! What!!! I didn’t want to wait again for that. And I knew that I wanted the good energy flowing from the start of the year.

What am I particularly proud of?

*The amount of content I created in the form of blog posts, podcasts, periscopes, graphics, emails, and special features for the Fearless Launching site…was off the charts.

I often didn’t even notice how much I was doing until someone close to me mentioned it!

*I moved mountains to make the launch happen. Enrolled a great group of people to both the Solo (self-paced) version of Fearless Launching as well as the Pro Level – which actually started this week!

*I also took a chance on a small group of women (launch-lovers-like-me) who are joining me for a special Beta project that starts next week. If you’re curious, you can email me for details…

*I start Fearless Launching on time, when I promised it and am so excited to get to  know the women and men who joined the class this time around!

*I connected with 3 different partnership opportunities that you’ll find out about later this year….one of my goals from last year was to partner more with people, not just as an affiliate, but true partnerships where we create something together. So, stay tuned for that!

What action(s) can you take right now to ensure success during your next 2 months?

One of the strengths you should constantly be working to build in yourself–especially as an entrepreneur and business owner — is that you can pivot, learn, take action on what you’ve discovered…whether that means a completely new direction or embracing a new phase in your business.

Launches are pretty darn stressful and it’s easy to want to sit back and chill when they close, but I’m not doing that — especially this year.

1. FL Sales copy…because I have a self paced version of the course pretty much always available, I can make updates to the copy and test things throughout the year. So, I’m jumping on this starting next week.
2. My image — I’m working with Catherine Just and Henry Lohmeyer in March…newer, better images that really show who I am now…
3. Visual Branding — Andrea Robinson can literally see my brand more clearly than I can…so I’ll be working with her soon too!
4. Case Studies – we’re going to get those case studies of the amazing grads of Fearless Launching up and available to inspire you.
5. Products – I’ve got several smaller products ready for the world without a clear funnel or path to receive them, so I’ll be focusing attention on those now before I say I’m launching them.
6. Personal stuff – selling our house, finding new one, moving out of state perhaps!

Time for you to review your own business

First of all…notice how I didn’t ask you to gather any data that might overwhelm or confuse you…this is not a full on launch post-mortem or quarterly report. I’m just asking you to start being conscious of what’s working and what’s not in your business.

So now…I would love it if you’d download this simple pdf worksheet to do a quick check-in with your business (and your personal life as it overlaps), and then come back here and share some of your a-ha’s after finishing the exercise!

Like these types of posts and want more?

Let me know! Leave a comment below telling if you’d like me to do this check in every month and maybe provide even more detail about how I really run my business and the tools I use to do that!

-Anne