Business Lessons learned in 2022 to inspire your 2023

Are you ready to say goodbye to another year? Personally, I am mentally done with 2022 and I am ready for a fresh start. But I always like to look back on the year to reflect on things I have done and things that have gone on around me. Growth comes from the lessons we learn as we go.

So here are a few of the business lessons I am carrying into the new year. Remember, these aren’t resolutions to change who you are fundamentally (because you’re already pretty awesome), but they are things that can help to shift perspective and our approach to the way we run a business and market to customers.

Social media is unpredictable

I’ve talked about this already, but it deserves a spot on this list. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket when it comes to your marketing – especially if that basket is social media. Social media is unpredictable in so many ways. Platforms change and they don’t do it with your input. They are just running a business so the changes are based on their assessment of the platform and what direction THEY want to take the business. You don’t own your audience – if the platform unexpectedly shuts down or you lose access to your profile, you don’t own your audience. Find ways to build that audience offline as well.

If 2022 has taught us anything, it’s that a billionaire can swoop down and dismantle a platform that you’ve relied on to communicate with your audience and you can’t do anything about it except watch it happen and hope that things even out in the long run.

The people you work with can affect your reputation

I love working with content creators in our brand campaigns. They bring a fresh perspective to any brand story and you can discover a lot about your own brand by hearing how they talk about your brand to their followers. But remember you need to pick and choose wisely – and humans can sometimes be unpredictable.

This year, most of us watched in fascination and horror as Ye single-handedly tore down the bridges he built through his personal behaviour. Major brands cut ties with him and cancelled partnerships – those that didn’t were vilified by their customer base. While this was on a large scale smaller businesses need to understand that it can still happen to them. I am loathe to use the term “cancel culture” but you can’t just make decisions without building a strategy behind them or you could be affected negatively.

Contingency planning is more important than ever

Related to the point above about reputation, you need to make sure you have a contingency plan in place in case something goes wrong. What happens if you are affected by cancel culture due to yours or a third party’s actions? You need to have a great crisis communication plan in place.

While not everyone will need to use a crisis communication plan like that, almost every business was affected by the pandemic and needed to adapt to avoid shutting down. Having a plan in place before something like this happens can ensure that you don’t have to take too much time figuring out HOW to adapt. You can just act.

On a more personal note… my daughter has been sick almost every other week since January and when she is home, the days go more smoothly when I have a plan in place.

Take the break

I feel like I tell myself this every year – and I always start out strong and then just fall into a yes spiral by the end of the year. I have a hard time saying no – not necessarily because I am uncomfortable with it, but I enjoy doing things and supporting my community. Plus, as a business owner, you never know where your opportunities will come from. You can say yes, but be strategic about it. Set your boundaries. Set your criteria. And make decisions based on that.

When we get too busy, we often have a hard time taking a break. Just the other week I was lamenting about what would happen if I took some time off over the holidays. Someone reminded me that a week of rest isn’t going to destroy my business and that if I am burnt out because I need a break then my quality of work is likely going to suffer as well.

So…

Take the break.

PS. I even pre-wrote and scheduled this blog!

Not everyone will “get” you

You don’t have to get everyone to love you. Not every client is a good fit. So you need to ask tough questions and set boundaries even during the initial stages of meeting potential clients. You don’t want to waste their time or yours because if it’s not a good fit, then the work you produce won’t be great either!

We need to stop talking about “getting back to normal”

I get it, we’re all kind of over the pandemic. It doesn’t matter where your comfort level lies with pandemic-related issues, but people don’t want to hear about getting back to normal. Even if everything could go back to what it was before the pandemic in terms of health and safety, WE are forever changed. How we do business has changed. Customer purchase behaviour has changed.

And while we’re at it… Let’s also stop using “the new normal”. That implies a certainty and longevity that we just can’t promise. Live in the now and adapt.

2022 has been anything but “normal” or easy for so many people. As business owners and professionals we need to take what we’ve learned and face next year head on.

What are some lessons you have learned this year? Tell us in the comments!