end of year performance review

How to perform an end of year review as an entrepreneur

Posted on 1 December, 2022 by Lyndsey Segal in Business Coaching

An end of year review, sometimes known as a year-end performance review or annual review, creates an opportunity to pause, reflect and review your achievements and challenges from the current year, consider areas for development and identify goals and opportunities for the year ahead. 

These insights will help you to set your next business goals and plan effectively for your business.

If you are an entrepreneur, particularly a solopreneur, you don’t have a manager or team leader to carry out your end of year review, so it is easy for this crucial part of your professional development to go amiss. 

The headings below will help you structure your end of year review, alongside some example questions for reflection:

Reflecting on 2022

What went well and why?

Write down 5–10 specific successes or events you’d like to celebrate. 

What have been the highlights of my year?

These may be particular goals or achievements but may also be specific skills and knowledge you have developed.

What are the greatest lessons I have learned?

What is the key learning you will take with you from the past year?

What didn’t go so well and why?

If you could go back in time, what would you have done differently?

In order not to dwell too much on the negatives, it can help to identify how you feel about the disappointments and what you can do about them in the future. 

What have been my key challenges?

Identify your most challenging tasks and times and how you overcame them and built resilience.

Consider how they encouraged you to learn new skills or responsibilities.

Adapting to a new normal has brought challenges for all of us. Identify any personal struggles you may have faced this year.

Ongoing stress may have affected your productivity and focus so

time management and productivity coaching or stress management training may be goals to focus on in the future. 

Looking ahead to 2023

Which goals do I want to set for next year?

What steps do I need to take to achieve these goals? 

What people or resources will help me achieve the goals?

How do I want to spend my time?

What habits and routines do I want to have?

How will I measure or track my progress? 

What is my focus for 2023?

Where do I want to focus my time and energy the most this year? 

Which word can I use to encapsulate this?

What do I want my outcomes to be?

When I look back on 2023, what 3 big accomplishments would I like to have achieved? 

Create an action plan

Your action plan is a step-by-step supportive guide to help you achieve your next business goal. 

Identify specific tasks with a timeline for each step of your plan as well as the resources you will need.

An end of year review is a constructive way of evaluating your annual performance and year in business so you can plan better for your business and improve the way you work. Looking back on 2022 will help you move towards 2023 with greater clarity and focus.


How I can help you end 2022 with clarity and focus:

*Your annual review and goal setting session* 

Together we will carry out a detailed evaluation of your year in business and set your business goals for 2023. 

Book your end of year review and goal setting session


*Business planning and development session*

I will help you set your next business goals and create a step-by-step action plan to reach them.

Find out more and book your session


*Website review*

Get your website ready for 2023. I will take a thorough look across all of your websites’ pages and send you detailed feedback with suggestions for fixes and improvements, so your website can work better for your business.

Find out more and book your website review


If you are unsure about the best support for you, please get in touch to arrange your free, 20-minute discovery call.