As we enter into the festive season and we begin to think about winding down for the year, I wanted to ask you: Do you perform an end of year review?

This is an opportunity to take stock, reflect and take a look at the bigger picture.

It’s been another tumultuous year and depending on where you live, perhaps a return to more things that are ‘normal’ for you.

Whether this is a practice you do each year or if you’re new to it, I wanted to share my process for my business review…

Is your business satisfying your ‘WHY’?

In order to fulfill your WHY for being in business, the company you created has to be able to make the impact you had intended it to make.

Whether that’s impacting families through therapeutic approaches, providing housing for seniors, providing financial security for families, or helping others build healthy businesses, without your own healthy business, it becomes harder to fulfill that mission.

That’s why I love these markers of business value. It’s not only your own business you’re building, but having a healthy business means that you can change the lives of your clients and customers.

That’s the real and compelling legacy here and a huge reason why I do what I do. One of my big WHYs is to help you to be successful in growing a strong, healthy, and sustainable business that impacts others.

I’m deeply motivated to improve the lives of others through economic growth and supporting businesses that make a difference in our communities so we all thrive.

One of the markers of a healthy business is how cash flows through it. (This is the fifth driver of business value.)

One of the most common pains I hear from business owners is that there’s not enough cash. Or it shows up as their desire to ‘do more marketing’ or '‘increase sales’.

Is your business a cash suck?

Or does it generate cash quite handily?

If cash is rarely on hand in your business when you need it, you may want to consider exploring these areas:

Here is something to consider:

Does your business currently align with YOU and your goals? Does it provide you with what you need to live your life in the way you wish?

Here are two important considerations:

1. Does it align with your desired lifestyle while working?

2. Is it structured in a way to set you up for your lifestyle after you want to move on from your business? (whether that’s passing it down to children or management, selling it, or moving into an oversight position, etc.)

Do you think of your business in these ways?

If thinking of your business in these ways is new for you or you simply haven’t given it much thought then I invite you to spend a few minutes to entertain them.

People start a business for all types of reasons. Some start looking for more freedom and flexibility or financial freedom. Some start because they have a great idea that they haven’t seen in the marketplace. Some want to create a legacy or make a positive change in their industry. Your reasons could be all, some, or other reasons for starting your business.

But whatever your reason is, this question is relevant to consider:

Do you want to create a valuable business?

What does valuable mean?