I once had a boss who used to say “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

I never forgot that, and I am perplexed at the number of operators that don’t prepare a yearly budget, nor do they plan anything for the many holidays and sales events that occur each year.

In any operation, both personal as well as professional, I believe it to be a necessity, to prepare a plan.

When you get in your car, you have a plan as to where you want to go. It’s the same with your business.

What does it cost to run your business each month?

How did you do last year? Did you see an increase this year? What KPI’s increased for you?

That same boss also used to say “If you do what you always did, you will get what you’ve always gotten.”

If you don’t know how your business is performing relative to prior years, then now may be a great time to make a budget for the year.