Keisha Barnes

7 Areas You Should Include In Your End Of Year Reviews

Operations, Strategic Planning / December 12, 2022

What is an end of year review?

In last week’s post, the end of year review is the time for business owners to take a critical look at different areas of their company to see if they met the goals they set for themselves at the beginning of the year. 

In order to accurately assess this, you have to take a look at the KPIs and metrics you were measuring against to see if you hit the target mark.

KPIs/Metrics

Key Performance Indicators – Every part of your business can and should be tracked through KPIs, and there are multiple ways you can measure your success within these KPIs.

Organizational Chart Review

As you review the different areas of your business this year’s end, do you have the right people in the right roles, with the correct responsibilities?

Employee Performance Review and Feedback

The performance review will give you and your management team the opportunity to identify your employees’ strengths and weaknesses, communicate expectations with the team, review their time spent on certain activities, identify top performers, and increase motivation and engagement. 

Client Evaluations

Feedback from clients is one of the most valuable tools you can use to help improve your business. It can help you identify areas that need work, show you where you can make changes, and provide valuable insights that you can use to improve your business.

Financial Review

Knowing your numbers is an empowering, necessary action that will provide you with information to move forward in your business. When you know your numbers, you can make decisions about operations, payroll, marketing, sales, and more.

Retention Review

Have you considered your retention rates within your business? As you review your end of the year records, take a look at your employee retention rate as well as your client retention rate.

Time Review

It can be helpful to look back at how you’ve spent your time in their business this year and ask yourself where you can optimize your time in the future.

Take Time To Reflect on Successes and Growth

The most important part of goal setting is reflection, but it’s something that can be easily forgotten. While it’s motivating to determine business objectives and empowering to create an action plan to reach them, you won’t see any growth or progress if you don’t reflect on your journey.

Without reflection, you won’t be able to learn from your mistakes or celebrate your successes.

We love hearing from our clients about their past year and what they hope to achieve in the new one! If you would like to start strategizing for 2023 with us, reach out today. We would be more than happy to help you achieve your business goals. Start HERE.

Final Month of The Year, Review

Operations, Strategic Consulting / December 5, 2022

Many business owners are in the mindset of completing their end of year review and getting set up to start strategic planning for the new year. What do you need to review, what are you measuring, what should you be measuring, and how does that translate into new year business goals.

Every year as December comes, it’s time for business owners to take a critical look at different areas of their company to see if they met the goals they set for themselves at the beginning of the year.

In order to accurately assess this, you have to take a look at the KPIs and metrics you were measuring against to see if you hit the target mark.

During your review, look at what you are measuring, if there is an area you should be tracking (but you’re not), and use this data to make informed decisions about the future of your business.

Here’s where we will be reviewing here at Keisha Renee LLC:

  • Financials
  • Employee Performance and Company Culture
  • Organizational Design Chart & Roles and Responsibilities
  • Technology Stack
  • Communication Processes (both team and client)
  • Service Development

What about you? What areas of your business will you be reviewing this year’s end?

If you would rather not handle the review process on your own, reach out. As an operations consultant, I handle this process for my clients all the time, and I would love to help you too!

endofyearreview #strategicplanning #financialreview #companyculturematters #performancereview #marketingmetrics

More about the Strategic Mapping Model™

Operations / May 18, 2022

Hey there! Let’s talk about Business Planning. You will hear (or see) me talk about planning – Often! It’s in my wheelhouse and my Zone of Genius. But just as I plan and emphasize to others about planning, I will say just as often: Choosing not to have a plan is still considered a plan. And with lack of planning, choices are often made for you which can be very unsettling and uncomfortable at times. Sometimes, what we thought was a great plan just becomes unmanageable. What do we do?

You, as the business owner and visionary, created your business and it could have been for a variety of reasons. Business has been and is going well. But because you are trying to do everything, YOU ARE OVERWHELMED! 

  • It seems that there is never enough time to do everything.
  • You wish there was a better, smarter, and faster way to do tasks in your business.
  • Because you are the visionary, you have BIG ideas for your business. But how do you begin when you are in the weeds of your business everyday?
  • You want to hire and form a team to help your business. But who should you hire first?
  • Or perhaps you have help but know you need more. Who  should you hire next?
  • Most importantly, can you afford to hire???
  • Is your business profitable? 
  • You want to scale but you are tired of trying to figure it out alone.
  • Do you have a solid business plan, organizational plan, financial plan, operations plan, or succession plan?
  • You want to move forward but you feel stuck and frustrated.
  • You went into business to be an entrepreneur, not an employee!

Whew! Those are a lot of thoughts and questions, right? But as a business owner, I am sure some iteration of those questions have crossed your mind.

STOP STRUGGLING and do something about it. Be a better business owner. Be a better leader. Feel better about your business.

If you’re anything like many of us, we all have tried everything. The masterminds, workshops, webinars, summits, coaching, courses, and conferences. And yet, you still feel like something is missing. You just need to figure out what is missing. Especially after hanging on for the last two years during a worldwide pandemic.

There is where I can HELP YOU. You may remember that I have recently announced that I am now  licensed in Strategic Mapping Model (™). I have more than 25 years of collective business experience, including leadership & management. I understand the excitement that visionary entrepreneurs feel when thinking of their future. Equally as important, I understand the value of operational foundations and having all the pieces in place to cultivate that growth. 

What is Strategic Mapping ™? It’s a proprietary training system that allows us to build a roadmap of where you, as the business owner, want to take your business. We strategize, identify imbalances, and map out the steps to get your business back on track. You leave our sessions with 3 key results: 

  1.  Clarity
  2.  Direction
  3.  Plan

Do you know how CEOs scale successfully? They become more strategic, then delegate, and automate. As a business owner, you know that successful organizations do not become so without team, support, or structure. As a small business owner, you have likely done ALL OF THE THINGS. How’s that working out for you? I bet it’s not very effective. Larger companies have departments consisting of teams and systems. As a small business owner, wouldn’t that feel great? That is what happens in the Strategic Mapping Model (™) where, along with crafting your Mission statement, we develop your 7 strategic objectives. This is what no one else will tell you: figuring out priorities and strategic objectives is the same for every business whether it’s a Fortune 500 company, a small business, an online business, a brick and mortar business, or  a non-profit. It’s just a change of mindset and focus.

There are 7 strategic objectives every business needs in order to flourish, grow, and prosper. They fall in these areas: Financial, Product, Operations, Team, Client Experience, Visibility, and Growth. When you work with me, we will strategize so that you gain clarity, prioritize and map out your directions, and develop a plan so that you know how to move forward in the next quarter and throughout the next year. We will align the objectives with your business and, get this, personal goals. A shift in mindset is to be expected. Your deliverables will also include a digitized plan inside Trello, a project management tool.  You will leave knowing exactly what to focus on to meet your business goals.

And when we’re done, I won’t ghost you or leave you. Because you may have questions after determining what your strategic objectives are, you will have 30 days of access to me via email and Voxer. If you think you may need more guidance or 1:1 support, the opportunity to work with me and gain further resources will be provided to you as well.

Like other plans in life, we recommend reviewing your business plan annually. Life changes. Technology changes, and if the last two years have taught us anything, the world changes.

I’ll talk more about Mission, Vision, & Values next time but until then, if you would like to have more information or want to talk about it? Click here to Kick it with Keisha!

 Strategic Mapping Model™

Operations, Strategic Consulting, Strategic Planning / April 30, 2022

Happy May Day! It’s been a minute since I’ve been here! Welcome back and thank you for your patience.

Hey, I’m Keisha! Planning, processes, and analyzing are my Zone of Genius. I help clients organize, integrate, leverage their time, and scale their business through strategy, systems, project management, team structure, and financial analysis which allows them to focus on their Zone of Genius to pursue the lifestyle they’ve always dreamed of.

As a visionary business owner, you may find yourself lacking the time, foundational systems, and management skills that are required to scale and move your business forward making you feel stuck and frustrated.

  • Do you have new ideas but unsure of where to begin?
  • Are you overwhelmed managing the backend of your business daily?
  • How is your financial management?
  • Are you struggling with team management?
  • Do you have systems and processes in place?
  • What does client management look like to you?
  • Are you ready to scale but tired of figuring it out alone?

I am your solution! What if I can offer you a roadmap with goals, detailed strategy, and a breakdown of projects for your business? How does that sound to you?

I am licensed in Strategic Mapping ™ focusing on strategic objectives and project management. Bringing more than 25 years of collective business experience with me, including business management, I understand the excitement that visionary business owners feel when planning their future. Equally as important, I understand the value of operational foundations and having all the pieces in place to cultivate that growth. Do you know how CEOs scale successfully? They become more strategic, then delegate, and automate. As a business owner, you know that successful organizations do not become so without team, support, or structure. 

Through this VIP event, I will lead you through key strategic objectives of the licensed Strategic Mapping Model (™) from the Director of Operations certification. You will gain clarity, direction, and a plan.

I am opening 7 spots only for Strategic Mapping ™ for the month of May. I am already seeing so much success from this event with my clients. Once these spots are filled, prices will increase. I am very confident that this process will be a game changer for your business!

Want more information or want to talk about it? Click here to Kick it with Keisha!