Roman Public Health Consulting: 2023 Reflections and 2024 Planning
I have always liked working the week between Christmas and New Years. It’s quiet because co-workers and collaborators are out of the office. You can stop and think and plan.
With that in mind, one of my favorite annual traditions since I started my business is to have myself a little end of year “retreat” to review the past year. I block the week from meetings. I put on my out of office and focus exclusively on my business (i.e., I do zero client work). And yay- I get to stand in front of my big white board :)
As we start 2024, I thought readers would be interested in both my process and some of the findings that emerged from this retreat that you can expect to see reflected in what I share and work on this year.
PROCESS
If you don’t already, I highly recommend listening to the deliberate freelancer podcast. Melanie has a wonderful episode on hosting a solo business retreat and regularly shares quarterly reviews of her business. These episodes provide a great brainstorm for questions to ask yourself during an end of year or periodic business retreat.
First, I like to start with the data (because of course I do!)
Finances: Annual gross income, expenses, and net income.
I look closely at this by quarter also, to get a sense of business/income flow and the times of year that I have larger expenses.
I look at how my total income breaks down by service type (since I offer 4 types of services). This can be really helpful for figuring out if you want to expand or reduce certain types of services.
Consider: Are there any expenses that I can reduce or eliminate?
BONUS: If you get this all organized the last week in December, you are way ahead at tax time!
Time tracking x Finances.
Even though I primarily price projects by value/deliverable (vs. hourly), I still track my time. This helps me confirm that my project estimates are on target both in terms of price and scope. It also helps me track the number of non-billable tasks that I do in my business.
I review each project time tracker summary and the notes I include regarding how I did and how I might improve next time in terms of efficiency or pricing.
Professional Development.
As a master certified health education specialist (MCHES), I have CEUs that I need to complete each recertification cycle. The last week in December, I always do a status update on how I’m doing.
Clients & Collaborators.
I review the number of projects and the diversity of my project portfolio (types of clients, organizations, service types, etc.) I look at how many projects had me as the primary consultant vs. subcontractor.
I review the referral sources for each client project. This helps me direct my marketing efforts for the coming year.
After looking at the hard numbers, I review some reflection questions. For example:
What projects were my favorites? What projects (if any) did I dread or breathe a huge sigh of relief when completed? What did I like about the favorite projects?
Were there any clients that were difficult to work with? Either because of project scope, client personalities, communication, or payment issues?
Who were my favorite fellow public health consulting collaborators? (more about this below!)
When reviewing my project notes and time tracker: are there any tasks that I can automate or outsource in the upcoming year?
How was my schedule in the past year? Did I have enough work hours for the projects that I took on or was I stressed on deadlines? Did I have enough childcare for the work hours that I needed? (Natalie over at Biz Chix has some great podcast episodes on mapping out your ideal schedule).
What 2023 accomplishments am I excited to celebrate?
FINDINGS
One of the first things I was thrilled to see in the data was that I made my highest consulting salary since 2018. Between having a second baby, having kids at home during COVID, homeschooling, and going back to school for e-learning & instructional design, I had a lot less hours to work between 2019-2022. This fall, my “baby” started school four days per week and that extra childcare really opened up my schedule to take on more work. Plus, shifting my business to specialize in the e-learning and instructional design niche, has really increased the amount and quality of referrals coming my way.
Here are a few other things that stood out between my data and reflections:
Fellow public health consultants are a top client and referral source. They are my #1 client for pick my brain strategy sessions and frequently hire me as a subcontractor for hands on instructional design projects. So the value of viewing fellow consultants as collaborators vs. competitors cannot be overstated!
I love doing e-learning instructional design audits AND they are a lucrative service for me. Clients seem to really appreciate this specialized service and when I reflected on my favorite projects, these always rise to the top!
I need to raise my prices or minimums for certain services (thank you time tracker!) For example, I saw that my pick my brain sessions required a larger time investment for me (especially with follow up since each client gets a detailed summary with notes, resources, and action steps). So you will see updated prices for this service in 2024.
I should continue to pursue retainer-based contracts in 2024 (in addition to project-based) because it really helps with getting more consistent income and project flow throughout the year.
I need to dedicate more time to (strategic) professional development activities. I have fallen into the habit of signing up for webinars here and there, but I’m not giving myself the protected time I want and need to focus on specific areas of interest (e.g., e-learning accessibility) and meet my MCHES requirements (i.e., I panic every December that I’m behind in my CEUs!)
There is so much more to my findings and 2024 plans than I can include in this post. But I share this summary to emphasize the value of this type of annual activity, encourage you to give it a try if you haven’t already, and highlight what you can expect from me this year.
I’d love to hear from you!
What questions (and data) do you like to review at the end of the year? Either as a public health individual or business owner?
What achievements are you celebrating? What changes are you making in the upcoming year?