The coming of a new year brings excitement and some anxiety. 2022 is rapidly winding down and it can be difficult trying to tie up loose ends. This is a great opportunity to set some time aside to assess how much you accomplished and what needs to be done next year. What follows is a list of the top activities to do before the year is out.

Examine Your Successes and Failures

It’s time to give yourself a pat on the back as 2022 was difficult and any gains made this year were hard earned. Celebrate your success and take note of what worked this year and how you can emulate it in the next. It’s also a good idea to review what didn’t work and why it went wrong. Some of 2022’s challenges may have been unique, yet others like inflation will carry over. Take the time to determine if you successfully navigated those challenges and how you will perform in the future.

Manage Budget

It’s common to have a portion of your budget left over at the end of the year and if you don’t use it, then you lose it. Time is running out and this is your last opportunity to put those funds to good use and preserve your 2023 budget. Use that leftover budget to give yourself a head start in 2023 or to experiment with something new that could help you in the future. A retail or restaurant prospects subscription or locations database is a good start.

Make Milestones

While you are reviewing your successes and spending the remainder of your budget, it is time to set milestones for next year. Where do you want to be at the end of every quarter and what do you hope to achieve? These milestones should be adjusted throughout the year, though setting some of them now can ease the anxiety that comes with a new year and help create realistic expectations.

Develop New Strategies for Success

Regardless if 2022 was a success or not for you, there is no way to guarantee that 2023 will play out the same way. Come up with new business strategies that can meet the challenges waiting for you. Look for strategies that will give you an advantage over the competition and take advantage of opportunities in the marketplace. Developing a winning strategy now could give you a great success to look back upon this time next year.

New Year Projections

Everyone will be making New Year’s Resolutions; however, you should be making New Year’s Projections. We don’t know what the new year will bring, yet we can make predictions based on 2022 and other historical data. Understanding how a strategy might play out or how a new venture you have budgeted will fare is the key to ensuring you have more successes to reflect on next year. If you need an industry or retail/restaurant chain forecast, CSG can produce a report for your company.

Once you have completed this list it will be time to turn the page on 2022 for good. Celebrate your accomplishments and take some time to recharge your batteries, because 2023 starts now.