Business Reflections & Check-Ins: A Consistent Practice
If you’re a business owner, you already know periodically assessing your business is good practice. But what are you assessing?
There are, of course, a million ways of doing it — which can get overwhelming fast.
While there is certainly no one right way of checking-in, I offer some thoughtful reflection questions, timing considerations, and metaphors in hopes they help you as you pulse-check your practice.
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Conceptualize your biz as a whole.
I’m a metaphorical person, and my brain works thematically, making it easier for me to zoom out and examine things bigger picture. This may not be the case for you and your brain! If you’re the visionary of the practice, this section might come easier to you. If not, you might consider making this a brainstorming sesh with others who align with your values and can help support you.
I suggest examining these 3 things, individually and how they are interconnected:
Your services — which we can think of as the bones or skeletal system of your business,
Your systems — the muscles of your business, how we actually move the bones, and
Your energy — the gut check or heart sense, the driving force behind your business
Services/Skeletal System: What services do you currently offer? What services, if any, are you considering offering or dreaming about? Do they make sense in your current business model?
Systems/Muscles: What’s your overall sense or feeling about how your systems are working? When was the last time you got feedback on system(s) from your employees/contractors/clients? Do you have a sense of what/if something is working or not?
Energy/Heart & Drive: How are you feeling? How is your team feeling? How aligned do you currently feel to your values and business mission? What’s supporting you and what’s getting in the way?
Pick a frequency and stick to it.
Again, there’s no one right way of assessing a business, but like many things — it’s helpful to be consistent.
I like to schedule business check-ins with myself every 6 months. This means adding a reminder to my calendar and then actually carving out the time to do it — not while multitasking something else, but fully engaged. You might consider any themes or patterns around when you work best, scheduling reflections during seasons or dates that you are more likely to have the time and energy to focus.
It’s also helpful to think about touch points beyond these 6-month frequencies, like regularly meeting with a business coach or otherwise getting outside feedback and advice. Don’t underestimate the power of another set of eyes in your business!
Reflect and re-align, intentionally.
What are the key points and hard hitting questions you want to keep asking yourself? What values or felt-sense do you want to bring to your work? What and who helps guide you?
If you’re looking for more tangible resources, I’m happy to share some!
You can find some general reflection questions (the ones I use as a guide for my 6-month check-ins) here.
You can find my free Business Vitality Assessment tool (created just for group practice owners!) here.
If you need some help integrating your goals into your practice, or you’re just craving another pair of eyes to look through things — let’s chat!
I’d love to help your practice thrive.
Hey! I’m Charlie — Your Practice Partner.
I help human-centered group practices thrive. More about me.
