The number of people that are saying “where did the year go” seems to me to get greater each year. Is that about the speed of our society / economy / technology or just that we are getting older?

This year I am honouring a resolution that I made last December (who said resolutions were just for January) - I’m going to be more organised for December and have a plan on how the next few weeks are going to be used in the business.

So for this week and next I will be -

• focused on tidying up all the clients projects I have on my plate
• sending a note to all my clients who still need to get me content/details so the project can be finished setting a deadline of next Monday (10th) to receive any oustanding material (otherwise the project will have to be moved into January).
• sending out Christmas cards and other tokens of my appreciation to clients, champions, advisors and friends thanking them for helping me have a great 2007.

Once these next 2 weeks are finished I will be spending the week before Christmas focused on Working Solo (as Michael Gerber would say “working on the business, rather than in the business). There are many ideas running through my head about how I can best serve my clients (current, past and future) and now is the time to start planning for 2008, so when January comes I can hit the ground running.

Allocating (and following through) on this business development time in December is one of the biggest things that I haven’t been doing that I need to change. For me planning and development activities in January makes me feel like I’m already behind the game; running to play catch up right from the very beginning.

I will be taking 3 weeks of annual leave from 21st December to 14th January. My clients will know how to contact me if things are urgent but often it is them who encourage me to have a good break, as they need me to be at my best to help with all the great ideas they have been brewing for the new year.

To all the solo and small business owners who read this blog - I’m curious as to what you end of year plans are and how you will be handling the transition from this year to the next.

(btw - the graphic in this article is the 2008 slogan not just for Working Solo but for the Maclean family this year. If you like it don’t just grab it but ask instead as this is covered by copyright).