Congratulations! You have successfully completed the 2010 Tour de Profit! You should feel good about staying in the race, maintaining your discipline, and spending the time to focus ON your business rather than IN your business.

Now, before we put a wrap on this year, I want you to do one last exercise. I want you to take 30 minutes this week to reflect on the lessons of this last year’s race. You may consider it your Wins and Challenges. Others call it their Successes and Sorries. You call it whatever works for you, but take the time to sit down with a paper and pen or at your computer and capture the lessons you learned from this year’s competition.

What did you do this past year that you want to do again – those things that worked? Which of those that worked should you “double-up” on? They worked but you know they could even be bigger or better.

What happened this past year that you should not let happen again next year? What should you avoid at all costs? What missed opportunities can you see now that you are looking in the rear view mirror?

What new skills do you need to have as you begin your next year’s race? What skills are missing from your team that you need to make sure you secure? What needs to change with your approach, your attitude or your commitment to get a better result next year?

The trick to winning is to be improving all the time. There is no reason to repeat the year you just had again. No matter how good it was, there is always room for improvement. Are you thinking of the areas where you can and should improve?

Let me ask you this. If your son came home from the 4th grade and said, Mom, Dad, I have some bad news. I failed the 4th grade and will have to repeat it again next year. How would you respond? Would you lift him up, support him, tell him to try harder and help him get through the 4th grade the following year? Of course you would.

Now, what if the following year the same thing happened – he came home and said he failed the 4th grade yet again and has to repeat it. How would you feel now? Would you start to wonder if that was your son? Would you question what was wrong? Probably.

Say he did that year after year until he was now driving himself to school but still in the 4th grade! Are you laughing at the thought? Probably! Why is that so funny? Because that is exactly what many business owners do year after year. They are simply repeating the same year over and over again – rather than learning and growing and getting better results each year! Are you looking in the mirror?

Don’t let that happen to you! Take the time, while the memories are fresh, to gather your learnings and make improvements for this next year. You will be glad you did!

Again, congratulations on your 2010 Tour de Profit! I look forward to seeing you on the ride again in 2011 – we start in less than a week!

Contact Rich Allen, Business Coach at www.actioncoach.com/richallen or at richallen@actioncoach.com for more information on his business coaching programs.