Every month, smart small business owners plan, strategize, and implement tools, techniques, and approaches. As it is the beginning of the year, it only makes sense that January is one of the most critical planning times of the year..a time when entrepreneurs buckle down and get really serious about the upcoming year. In that spirit, the following list has proven to be very helpful to HIPs:

12 Things a Home Inventory Professional should do every January:

1. Write Your Big Vision Annual Goal – Write a 2-4 sentence explaining what you want your business to look like at the end of the year. Make it BIG – for example, your goal would be: Complete 35 paid Home Inventories (not complete 3 paid Home Inventories)
2. Define Your One-Word Theme for the Year – it is very important to chose one word that encompasses your entire ‘mission’ for the year. For example: growth, value, transformation, awareness
3. Complete a Sales and Marketing Plan – this should include: yearly outcome, annual marketing strategy, ultimate outcomes for each month, monthly revenue projections for each month, and monthly marketing strategies for each month
4. Review Your Business Plan every year and update as necessary
5. Review Your Mission and Vision Statements every year to ensure your focus remains true to your original intention and vision
6. Update Your Scripts for cold calling, elevator speech, strategic partner introductions, etc.
7. Update Your Sample Home Inventory and make appropriate changes and updates including date performed
8. Change the Year on Your Website – the website footer is a simple, yet critical way to maintain an up-to-date and professional image. We often see websites that have not been updated for two or more years…this is simply unacceptable.
9. Complete a Social Media Schedule including blog, Twitter, Facebook, Klout, and Linked-in (to name a few) updates and posts. Be as specific as possible and remember to add due date, topics, etc.
10. Update Annual Calendar – whether on-line, digital, or paper, it is critical to maintain a current birds-eye view of your schedule
11. Review Networking and Partnerships. This includes taking a hard and realistic look at your strategic and referral partners and networking groups. Are the relationships STILL productive and profitable? Do the groups STILL bring a constant and steady stream of paying work and connections? If not, it is time to make a change – remember, not all relationships are meant to last forever (and that’s completely OK).
12. Join a Mastermind group with like-minded ethical business owners; not necessarily other HIPs.
13. BONUS – Get a Coach! After many years of resistance, I hired a coach several years ago. I had such remarkable results after the first coach, I now have 4! It seems the  more coaching I received, the more productive and profitable I became!