Business Bingo Card

Writing out a yearly plan is a fairly simple process. In a nutshell:

• Review and reflect on how last year went
• List out all of the things that went right (and went wrong)
• Gather up your numbers for 2024 (and prior years if you have them)
• List all of the things you want to accomplish in the next year, both quantitative and qualitative

This year, I'm creating a "business bingo card" for a quick overview of the things I want to accomplish in 2025. That way, I'll have a nice visual layout of my goals and everything lives on one page.

How it will work

All we're doing is taking a blank bingo card with 25 empty spaces and adding our 2025 objectives to it. These are objectives we want to accomplish by the end of the year. Nothing complicated.

Some objectives are specific/measurable goals while others are habits I want to build. A few spaces on my card have multiple occurrences so I can build rhythm on new operational processes.

My basic rules

• Be patient — As an ambitious entrepreneur, I'll want to knock out all of these in January... some spaces are dependent on others and many will require months of effort. Patience required.
• Gamification — This makes for a great way to celebrate wins and gamify objectives; naturally I want to accomplish everything on here but we'll celebrate the milestones as they come.
• Simple and big picture — Keep everything simple and understandable. Other than trying out new tools/concepts, everything should be very straightforward. Cover all aspects of the business and not just financial targets or sales goals, etc.
• Mix of specific targets, habits, and big goals — Every square doesn't need to be a financial target. Mix in some processes, habits you want to build, operational improvements, or longshot goals. Don't play it too safe.

What are some items to include?

If you're struggling to come up with some ideas for your own card, try a few of these. Note: these could work for traditional 2025 goalsetting too.

Here's a sample of a business bingo card. If you click the image, you can download a blank template to build your own card.

If you're an established business working through a strategic plan, it could be helpful to cluster objectives around a theme like fixing up a division, setting operational processes, or refining sales & marketing tactics.

The main takeaway here is to pick an approach that will help you set direction for 2025 and work with it. A bingo card is just one approach (maybe you're into 6-page memos).

Your homework — Either steal my bingo card or create one of your own. If you're not into this idea, try another business planning approach for 2025. Just get something down in writing.

P.S. Send us a copy of your bingo card and we'll share some popular (anonymous) ideas. We can also send you a reminder late 2025 to check in on your progress!