guest column:Emmanuel Zvada With everything that is happening in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic, the natural disasters, all the loss and fear, it is very easy to lose hope and focus. No matter what your situation is as a company, you have to pick yourself up and stay calm and positive. The new year is right around the corner, it’s a good time to step back, re-evaluate and recharge some areas of your business. Getting your business set up puts you in a great place to reach your goals this year I hope you have already planned for 2021 Let it be known that it is not too early to embark on next year’s success. Pre-planning in these last few weeks of the year can help ensure you are ready to hit the new year running. Do not wait until December to end or after the first month of the year to create next year business plan. It is advisable that you begin your planning for the coming year after your third-quarter results are in. At the very latest, start your planning well before people start taking about the holiday. Having clear plans for next year is key as it will enable you to start strong. Starting off strong allows you to build momentum in your business and enjoy a much more successful year. Because of too many things the racing through your mind to finish in the remaining weeks of the year, many entrepreneurs miss an excellent opportunity to prepare their business for the upcoming year. If you have not planned yet believe me begin as soon as possible. The problem with the end of the year is that you lose a lot of stakeholders to vacation and holiday-itis. So planning should be done generally before the holidays before the “out of office” notices appear. Review your year The best way to prepare for the upcoming year is to analyse what happened in the last 12 months. Look at your numbers (revenue, profit margins, and other KPIs), trends, and lessons learned. The best thing about the end of the year is that you are already well-informed and ready to be in reflection mode. Just as you reflect on your personal life and set goals, you should do the same in your career and business. When reflecting, take a look back at both the good and the bad sides of things. Take stock of where you visa vis the goals you set last January. Did you achieve them? What step did you take to reach your goals? Don’t just focus on the goals you achieved and forget about the rest. Review your sales reports by more than just gross volumes and revenues. Look at which products or services did best, which locations generated the most sales and what marketing efforts generated the most return. In addition to reviewing your numbers, discuss with your management team their thoughts on why you performed the way you did. After you have done the review analysis, discuss how you can do things differently. Look at the effects of a cost-containment effort, new promotional strategies, changing your distribution and raising or lowering your prices. Brainstorm and create forecasts for the following year Some people jump right to the goal-setting phase of this proces