Preparing for 2025: Setting Your Business Goals

The New Year is fast approaching, making it the perfect time to establish your 2025 business goals and strategize how to reach them in the year ahead and beyond. At Merit, we take a dedicated approach to shaping the future of our business through an all-day annual planning session. This structured approach allows us to spotlight what matters most to our company and our teams. By the end of the session, everyone leaves with clear objectives and key results (OKRs) and a renewed sense of ownership.

Over the years, with refinements based on learnings, this approach has enabled us not only to achieve our company goals but also to increase talent retention. Annual business planning sessions aren’t just for large firms—they’re crucial for all firms, regardless of size. Here are three ways you can make your annual business planning meeting a success and build a foundation for growth in 2025 and beyond.

1. Dedicate Time to Focus on Business Planning

One of the most critical elements of effective business planning is allocating time to work on the business versus in the business. Set aside a specific date and time (a half-day to a full day is ideal) and commit to it. We have found that the best time to hold this meeting is between November and mid January, but choose a time that makes sense for your business. For instance, this year, Merit held its annual planning meeting in October, which felt great to complete early.

Consider meeting offsite to help your team focus without the distractions of daily tasks or regular meetings. Additionally, schedule quarterly check-ins to track progress. During these check-ins, follow the 90/10 rule to avoid getting bogged down: spend 90% of the time looking forward and only 10% reflecting on the past.

2. Start Big, Then Narrow Down

Begin your planning meeting by identifying overarching company goals and then break them into actionable steps. For instance, if your one-year goal is to recruit a specific number of advisors, outline the steps you can take in the next quarter to work toward that goal.

Set goals on a timeline that includes quarterly milestones and extends up to three years. Planning further than three years can be inefficient given today’s rapid pace of change.

Keep OKRs in mind—objectives and key results. Objectives should be inspirational and motivational, while key results must be measurable. For example, your firm’s objective might be to become the leading financial planning firm in your region, but a measurable key result could be securing five pieces of local press coverage in the next quarter. At Merit, we establish both company-wide and team-specific OKRs to ensure every team member contributes to shared success.

If you’re looking for guidance, “Measure What Matters: OKRs: The Simple Idea that Drives 10x Growth” by John Doerr has been an invaluable resource for us.

3. Invest in Your People

Your best chance at achieving your goals is having an incredible team behind you. Investing in your employees not only helps you reach your objectives but also differentiates your firm. “Investing” doesn’t always mean increasing compensation—it’s also about fostering their growth and development.

At Merit, every team member has a personal development plan informed by intentional questions, such as:

• What do you like about your job?
• Describe a recent good day at work.
• What does your dream job look like?
• Who in the company would you like to learn from?
• Are your skills being fully utilized?

As a fast-growing company, we use these insights not only to help our team members achieve their career goals but also to improve how we hire, onboard, and retain top talent. This process enables us to build dream jobs for our current staff while fostering a strong, collaborative culture.

By dedicating time, focusing on actionable goals, and prioritizing your people, your business will be well-positioned for growth in 2025 and beyond. The New Year is a time of opportunity—seize it by setting yourself and your team up for success!

Ready to start planning for 2025 and beyond? Contact us today to learn how Merit can help your business set clear goals, create actionable strategies, and build a strong team for a successful future. Let’s work together to achieve your vision.