Issue link: https://nbm.uberflip.com/i/1484533
4 4 G R A P H I C S P R O • D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 2 G R A P H I C S - P R O. C O M A s we come to the close of another year, it is gratifying and helpful for future success to carve out some time to reflect, look back, and honestly answer questions about the previous 12 months. This process is not an exercise in punishment or to point out the failures, but instead a way to evaluate the details so we can gain the most valuable feedback possible. The best way to improve your business is to mea- sure it from a starting line and see what happened and why. Don't measure from where you are to a finish line you may or may not have reached. What didn't happen is complex and arbitrary, while what did happen is measurable and concrete. Also, there are a lot of great questions out there that you can find to analyze your company's past year's success. Questions that help you look at specific data around your customers, sales, and expenses. How is your marketing doing, and what successes have you had and why? But most people need to re- member to ask themselves the mindset questions. The ques- tions that help you understand your relationship with your customers and how you are progressing as a business owner. Mindset is so under-recognized when improving a business B U S I N E S S S T R A T E G I E S YEAR-END REVIEW TRAITS OF SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE WE CAN ALL MASTER T H E R I S I N G T I D E O F B U S I N E S S | A A R O N M O N T G O M E R Y that most people think it is unimportant. But what I have learned after working with small business owners is your mindset and the skills that come with that are crucial for success. Let me share some questions and thoughts to ponder in some downtime between the end of 2022 and the begin- ning of 2023. How are my (or my company's) skills measuring up to other successful people (or companies)? To grow, we sometimes have to look to others who have done something similar or study those that have mastered success. I have noticed that successful people (or companies) have similar traits we can all master. So how did you do on improving these skills: • Intrinsic Motivation - These are areas like your curios- ity, passion, purpose, autonomy, and mastery. These skills can be built through practice while at the same time taking small risks to gain self-confidence. • Self-Awareness - This is a skill that involves both