Many of us will find ourselves in the same situation this month. Thanksgiving has come and gone and now the holiday season is here. We spend a lot of money buying things for the season, or realize that, maybe, we don’t have much money to spend. Then, when New Year’s Eve finally comes around, and as we get ready to countdown and celebrate, we think that maybe we don’t have much to celebrate—leaving us with a feeling of not being too thankful for the past year and with a lack of hope for the upcoming year.
Some of you might be excited about 2020, but a lot of us are going into the next year dreading it. I want to speak to the latter.
Take the month of December to slow down and count.
Count how many cars you did the entire year of 2019; calculate your hours per car; take a look at what your net profits were in the good months and what they were in the bad months; analyze your annual gross profit.
Go back and remember all of the minor and major decision that you have made in the past year, and how they have really impacted you business.
When I look over my numbers and decisions I have made in the past 11 months, I’m proud of the growth that my team and I have made in our shops. I’m proud of the new marketing angles that we have tried; I’m proud of the additional technicians that we’ve brought on board; and I’m proud of all of the upgrades our sales team has made.
And as I look back and think about all of the things that we have done and all of the growth we’ve had, I know there is still more to improve and change.
When looking back at 2019, you may not know exactly what your 2020 plan is, but you at least know what to do—and more importantly, what not to do—based off of what did and didn't work this year. Knowing what not to do is half of the battle.
Reflecting on the past year might also include comparing yourself to the other shops in town that had a great 2019. Doing that may leave you wondering what they did differently than you and why they did so well. As difficult as it may be, try to not be jealous. Instead, be inspired.
It all comes down to perspective.
Instead of thinking that you don’t deserve the success that others have achieved, reshape your perspective to believe that if they can do it, you can do it.
I want to encourage you right now to start thinking that way—that you are no different than this other person who is more successful. You’re just like them. The only difference is the actions that you are taking. If you are willing to admit that to yourself, then it is just an action issue, and not an issue of who you are as a person.
As you begin to take action, it should start to become habitual to you. This habit will start to affect your thinking, and your thinking should start to put the action in autopilot. As that continues to happen time after time, you will see yourself starting to change. The world is waiting for you to change and do something different.
As you sit here in 2019, be thankful for every opportunity you’ve had. If where you’ve ended up is not where you want to be, the great news is, you can change it. You can make 2020 different. But, the only way it’s going to be different is if you take drastic action.
Add those numbers up, count up those cars and hours and go make a difference this year.
You can do it, I believe in you and I wish you an amazing 2020.
