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THE SIGNS are here – the shops are full of mince pies, the menu choices for the Christmas ‘do’ are out and that online French course you meant to take is still on the ‘To Do’ list. The year is nearly over.
Now is the time to plan ahead before you find yourself washed into the new year on a tide of ‘busyness’ which can leave you feeling disoriented and underprepared. When things get hectic, it is easy to feel either like you are stuck in a rut or trapped on a hamster wheel… Either can have the same result – not knowing, or getting, where you want to be.
So where do you want to be? And what do you really want?
More free time? Less stress? More income? Better health? Not missing deadlines? More fun?
What about finding a different market for your services or different services for your customers?
All of these are possible if you can figure out what works for you.
Business owners, whether employer or self-employed, wear many hats, have stretched resources and can feel like the business runs them rather than the other way around. A few steps now can reap huge rewards in 2025 for your health, wealth and happiness.
At FSB, we put on an annual Business Bootcamp: New Year Refresher at The Woodlands corporate retreat at Hothorpe Hall in Northamptonshire as a tonic to get business owners ready for the year ahead and I hope you will come along on January 30.
This year, Bootcamp covered topics including business strategy, marketing, nutrition and leadership. We drank green smoothies (and coffee), ate Asian bowl food, networked and toasted marshmallows around the tipi fire with 120 attendees.
I hope we’ll see you again this January, where we are hitting practical strategy hard, with sessions from Action Coach, Sales Geek, Business Doctors and Business Times, as well as covering tips on getting your mind and body ready for the year ahead and plenty of networking and exhibition stands.
So, before the Quality Streets are opened, make some plans for the year ahead. Book your FSB Bootcamp space so you know you have that to come but also make some time to look around at what advice and support is available.
For example, the Business and IP Centres based at libraries around Northamptonshire have access to some incredible market research databases; COBRA, GrantFinder, Business Opportunity Profiles and many more. Visit your nearest BIPC to go and make use of these otherwise very expensive resources and see what gaps in the market or untapped client base you could be missing.
Look back at what has gone well in the last year and, for 2025, what can you build on, celebrate, diarise, repeat or avoid. What photos from business events are languishing on your phone? Share them on social media to reconnect with people you met, thank the event organisers or just for a fun #Throwback memory.
If you wrote a business awards or tender application, received client testimonials or delivered a presentation, reuse that copy over the next few months on your website, social media or in a Christmas message to your customers and contacts.
At Bootcamp we use roving mics and table discussions to share best practice and plans so come prepared to share or to soak up advice with other business owners.
As with all our events, there is no need to be a FSB member. Tickets are from £15.
To book, scan the QR code or click here.
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