Every time a new year starts, we think that 12 months is a long time – until the end of the third quarter hits and you realise that the year is gone. It’s also when you realise that you had planned to do or achieve a lot of things in your business and personally, and unfortunately some have not gone as well as you had hoped.
Yes, earlier this year I had a few projects that I had in mind that didn’t pan out – not because I didn’t want to do them but rather time didn’t allow. I’ll explain. I believe what people say – that you have to make time for things that are important to you but not at the risk of reaching a level of total burn out. Some of the plans that didn’t pan out were because there are some projects or business opportunities that came unexpectedly. It was the kind of projects that I couldn’t say no to and these – took up most of my time.
You see, the projects we take on as SMMEs are in most cases those that will make an incredible difference to our businesses’ bottom-line. We make sacrifices when it comes to our priorities; because let’s admit, we are all chasing those gold coins – aren’t we? I digress.
So, back to the lessons I learnt this year as an SMME owner and personally. Firstly, no matter how much I want to make money – it’s always important to make sure that I live a balanced life. I tackled the topic of work-life balance in detail in one of my recent columns and how important this is. As much as I work hard, I now try by all means to prioritize down time so that I can use this time to recharge and come back strong. I recommend this to all my fellow hustlers especially now, during the festive season: Try to enjoy the fruits of your labour, no matter how little you made in 2024 – we will try again in 2025.
Another lesson that I’ve learnt is how important it is to save for the following year – this is both from a personal perspective and the business. We were discussing this with some of my friends recently, the usual spending spree from the week of the infamous ‘Black Friday’ to the money chowing 10-days between the 15th and the 24th of almost every December – it is quite incredible. What I find strange is how we act as if we did not know that the dreaded ‘Janu-worry’ was going to come. And without fail and like clockwork: ‘Janu-worry’ comes immediately after the excitement of the festive season has worn off. And then, reality hits all of us. Most of us start feeling the negative effects of our overspending patterns in the beginning of each year.
So, because ‘Janu-worry’ has hit me hard before, I decided a few years ago that I should try and be a little wiser by saving a little bit. A third lesson I learnt are the important insurances that one needs to have as a business owner, such as income protection and so forth. Because tomorrow is not promised, we always have to plan for any eventualities.
I know that these are not some of the things we want to talk about but because they are part of our reality – we unfortunately have to plan for them financially. If we don’t do this for ourselves, then we need to do them for the wellbeing of our businesses and those of our families.
And lastly, we need to use this time to reflect on what has gone wrong in 2024, the challenges we faced and come up with some recommendations or solutions on how we can improve. This can include the quality of the product we sell or even the services we provide to our clients. However, while reflecting on what has gone wrong – we also need to make sure that we are not too hard on ourselves. It is also important to celebrate every win in 2024, no matter how small. And once all of that is done, during this quiet time before the Xmas and New Year period – we need to tighten our plans for 2025. So, to my fellow small business hustlers: All the best for 2025, Aluta Continua!
Miranda Lusiba is the Founding Director of Strangé Consulting – Boutique PR Agency & Lifestyle Services specializing in Communication, Freelance Writing, Media & Stakeholder Relations, Reputation Management, Thought Leadership, Media Training & PR Coaching.