What will make this year different than other years for my business? This is a question every business owner thinks about. By reviewing your historic information and looking forward you can set the stage for making this year one of your best ever, a financial success!
1. Create a plan and set goals.
Start by answering these questions:
What challenges do you perceive you will face?
What improvements do you want to make in your business?
What results would make you happiest?
Is your business in a position to adapt quickly to changes from the business environment?
By taking time to think about these things and mapping out a plan, you could end up with your best year ever and limit surprises. As with anything in life and in business there are no guarantees but planning and setting and writing down goals allows you to be in the best position to achieve them. It also gives you the ability to track your progress throughout the year and make shifts as necessary. Sharing your plan with others too also keeps you accountable. I have an accountability buddy I meet with monthly to make sure I stay on plan and it definitely has helped with my business and the things I want to achieve.
2. Identify what would be a win for you in your business.
Perhaps it is hiring the right employee that would free up your time or would be able to help increase sales for your business. If the hire is at the management level, perhaps that person can help you achieve the culture you want in your business. From a financial perspective, make sure you have included this hire in your budget/forecast for the year. If the goal is to land a significant contract, identify what resources you would need to be able to do this.
3. Identify what would make your staff more successful for your business.
Top players are key to business success. Have a dialogue with your current team. Find out what they need to achieve success and what they have set as a priority for the year. Do they have those resources and if not, what would it cost to get them. Again, if you have planned, you can achieve and both you and your staff will be aligned toward meeting your business goals. If monies are tight, perhaps come up with interim solutions and work towards saving monies to later achieve.
4. The customer is always right.
Look at, review and understand your customer’s experience. By exceeding expectations, loyalties are created which will help your business achieve a consistent stream of revenue. In addition, to focusing on the experience, look at how you are rewarding your team. Creating a great customer experience and rewarding your team for its achievements will allow you deliver and get the results your business wants.
5. Understand trends that will likely impact your business
Always keep up to date with trends. Creating a few plans will help you deal with and be ready for any changes. Create a base plan and then other plans based on the scenarios you anticipate are likely. Having these in hand will allow you to make adjustments as needed.
6. Analyze your clients to Increase revenues
Laying out an analysis of the demographics of whom you sell to, understanding product lines or services you sell and the margins for them will help you focus on your marketing efforts. Creating meaningful financial statements that can provide revenue by product line or services will help you achieve this goal.
7. Attempt to limit the reactive behavior in your business
The best way to do this is to carve out time for reflection. Spending time on identifying issues that limit your business success and creating plans to work through those issues will help keep fire drills to a minimum within your business. Establishing a habit of set intervals of regular assessments will allow you to make the needed adjustments and make your success sustainable.
As always our team is here to discuss and help you implement these tips for you to reach Financial Success in 2019!