December is a hectic month and with everything that’s going on, many small business owners forget to plan for the New Year. But planning ahead is the most important thing a small business owner can do to ensure their business is successful in the future. It helps you focus what you want to accomplish and breaks your big goals down into smaller every-day tasks that are easier to manage.
Yes, December is a busy month, but if you can take some time to do these ten things you will start 2012 on the right foot.
1. Set personal goals: Setting goals is the first step in goal achievement. If you don’t know where you’re going – how will you know when you get there? Think about where you want to be a year from now, and then start breaking that goal down into more manageable (and less scary) steps that you can work towards each week and month. Whether you want to improve your work/life balance, your financial situation, or your physical fitness – having a goal will help you get there.
2. Set business goals: Small business owners are notoriously short on time, but that doesn’t mean business planning should be neglected. Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, says that most people spend the majority of their time working on tasks that need to be dealt with immediately and that they tend to neglect important, but not urgent tasks like goal setting. Though you have a million things to do, make sure you set goals and ensure they are SMART – specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time oriented. One example of a SMART goal is, ‘I will acquire three new clients next month by asking for referrals from my current customers.’
3. Have your employees set goals: Help your employees achieve their career aspirations by asking them to list some goals they would like to accomplish in the coming year. These goals can include activities they want to do more or less of, areas they would like to improve and new skills they would like to develop. Once the list is developed, have an open discussion about how you can help make those goals a reality.
4. Re-analyze expenses: Look at every expense in your business and see if there’s a way to reduce it. Are you reaching the end of your phone or internet contract? If so, you can almost always negotiate a better deal for your business. All you need to do is call into the cancellation/customer service department and ask for a better rate – it’s that simple. While you’re at it, ask your insurance company to re-quote and also take a look at your monthly bank statement to ensure you’re not over paying on banking fees and interest.
5. Update your prices: This point goes along with re-analyzing your expenses. In instances where the costs to bring your product to market have increased, you should consider how that will affect your monthly break-even. If your profit margins are eroding due to increasing production costs, it may be time to consider updating your prices. That being said, not all price increases are a result of greater expenses. The perception of value can often influence the price a customer will pay for your product – so if you are offering a high quality product you may consider a pricing strategy that is more reflective of the value you provide.
