How is your Overhang for 2015?

120314December is an important time of the year for entrepreneurs to plan for the next year.  The first part of planning is reviewing what has been accomplished to date.  Asking the questions: What worked? What did not work? And why?  Each question will give you some answers that provide insight into planning for greater success in 2015.  It’s obvious that you will want to continue with what worked, but it is not so clear about what you should do with what didn’t work.

This is where you need to be honest with yourself and decide what to do with what didn’t work.  Using the 3 “B’s” can come in handy.  The 3 “B’s” is a coaching tool developed by Martha Beck to use when what is not working is staring you in the face.  You really don’t want to deal with it.  The 3 “B’s” are: Barter it, Bag it, Better it.

My personal favorite is “Bag it”.  If something really, really doesn’t work then just stop doing it.  Figuratively, throw it away.  You will find it’s quite freeing.

However, most items that “don’t work” will be redeemed with either “bartering it” or “bettering” it.  Don’t like to post blogs?  Hire a personal assistant who is happy to do that for you.  Hate working on Saturdays?  Then change your schedule so that you have the time off you crave.

Once you have thoroughly reviewed your business actions, you are ready to start planning for the new year.  A tool that is very useful for business owners is to chart their overhang for the next year.  Charting overhang is best done on a spreadsheet.  Although it seems similar to the Sales Forecast, it is different in that you are charting already closed business not projected closed business.  In very simple business terms, “overhang” is the monies or sales you have already closed and the work and payment for the work is expected in a certain time frame during the next year.  For example: A client closes a sale at mid-December, the work is scheduled to begin in February 2015 and the invoices will be paid in 2015.  The payment for the contract is overhang.  Charting your overhang for 2015 will begin to inform you about actions to take now in order to cause the greatest amount of overhang for your business.

In the space below, let me know if this way of planning your business for 2015 is useful to you.  If you already chart overhang, please share how it is useful to you.  I look forward to hearing from you!

 

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