After surviving one of the most memorable years in anyone’s memory, 2021 is right around the corner. What does that mean for your small business? Is everything cruising along nicely, or would you like to see changes? With New Year’s quickly approaching, this is the perfect time to decide what you would like to do differently with your business. Think back over this past year and consider what New Year’s resolutions for your business would make 2021 a better business year than 2020.
Goals
Start by making a list of goals, and make sure they are realistic goals. Having definitive goals and at least tentative deadlines are instrumental in ensuring you will accomplish tasks and reach your desired outcomes. Do you want to work more hours, fewer hours, increase profits, or simply have more free time to spend by yourself or with family and friends? Are there milestones you would like to conquer for your business? Maybe you want to find a way to substantially grow your business. Some of these might be goals from last year, and you want to tweak them to fit your current situation. Consider the mistakes you made in addition to what worked well for your business. Write these goals down, consider what needs to be done to achieve each one, and set timelines and deadlines. Then share these goals with partners for upper management in your company to keep them visible and top of mind.
Business Planner
When making New Year’s resolutions for your business, be sure to have a business planner where you can chronologically record your goals, timelines, and deadlines. Include meetings with management or employees to get a clear picture of how your business is doing, and you should encourage employees to voice opinions or share ideas. Weekly or even daily meetings can be eye-opening for a business leader.
Business-Related Organizations
Consider having you and your management join some business-related organizations such as the American Management Association (AMA), The American Marketing Association (AMA), and Business Marketing Association (BMA). These types of organizations offer training programs, conferences, seminars, and publications regarding an assortment of topics including management, finance, leadership, marketing, and more.
Business organizations are also instrumental in learning new methods leading to new ideas, networking, and making contacts, and increasing your overall business acumen. Involvement with the organizations might be through your computer or it could be local events where you can interact with colleagues face-to-face.
Social Media
If you have been procrastinating on increasing your social media presence, this New Year’s will be the perfect time to make it happen. Consider starting a blog as one of your business New Year’s resolutions. Blogs have several benefits including increased SEO and brand awareness, and it provides relevant content to your audience. If you feel your writing skills are not up to par for consistently writing blogs for your business, consider hiring a professional blog writer instead. There are many freelancer websites such as Upwork where you can find professional blog writers to do the job for you.
Post daily on your favorite social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter. When people comment, respond to their comments because this creates engagement, and engagement is a crucial part of SEO. Again, if you don’t feel you have the time, you can hire someone to handle your social media activity.
Delegate
Delegating work will make your job easier, reduce stress, and potentially empower your employees. Is there work that you just can’t stand doing? Some people hate to write, some hate to crunch figures, and some hate to spend time on repetitive work that doesn’t do much to increase the bottom line. If you find yourself in any of these positions, it’s time to delegate. Additionally, your price per hour is surely more than a subordinate’s hourly pay. Also, by delegating, you would be empowering an employee below you to step up and learn more about the company. This can be very advantageous when you want to take the family out of the country for two weeks, and you can trust someone to take the reins for that period of time. It’s a win-win situation.
Delegating can empower your employees. When you think an employee can handle a situation or task, sometimes you have to let them work on their own to accomplish the task. That means little or no micromanagement, and a lack of trust. Sometimes you have to take risks and let your employees prove themselves in order for them to grow and gain confidence. If they sometimes fail, they’ll certainly learn from that. You may even consider putting some inspirational business-related quotes in visible places around the office.
Keep Learning
If you would like to learn more about your business, you could attend college courses, webinars, seminars, or you can hire a business consultant or coach to give you advice on improving your practices and methods. You don’t know what’s out there until you start looking. You never know what new trend or method might be waiting for you to learn and implement for your company.
Catch up on Your To-Do List
Often, a to-do list will include something like replacing a slow computer or printer or updating and increasing storage capacity. Sometimes these things end up in the ‘I’ll get to it one day’ category, and it never gets done. Do you have a couch in a waiting room that is getting worn and dingy? Maybe it’s time to replace one of the company vehicles that always seems to be breaking down. If so, you may consider one of these irritating problems as one of your next New Year’s resolutions in January.
Let Go of Deadweight
If something or someone is just not working for your company, it’s time to let something go. If you’re not pleased with the results from certain methods, contractors, suppliers, or your own employees, you should consider changing suppliers or methods or even replacing some employees. Getting rid of something or someone that is slowing your company down can only speed your company up. These can be tough decisions, but business is business.
Delegating can empower your employees. When you think an employee can handle a situation or task, sometimes you have to let them work on their own to accomplish the task. That means little or no micromanagement, and a lot of trust. Sometimes you have to take risks and let your employees prove themselves in order for them to grow and gain confidence. If they sometimes fail, they’ll certainly learn from that. You may even consider putting some inspirational business-related quotes in visible places around the office.
Give Back
Giving back to the community is good PR for any business and it will make you feel good. When you and your employees help a worthy organization, you are telling your community that your company is not just about you, it’s about everyone and you want to help. Your company could donate money, someone from your company could be a mentor to a younger student, or you could serve on the board or committee of a nonprofit. If there are ever any printing needs for a nonprofit, you could handle that and even include your logo somewhere on a brochure, flyer, or handout. This New Year’s resolution for your business is an important one, and it will not go unnoticed.
Don’t Forget About Yourself.
This might be the resolution most overlooked by business professionals. To improve your mental and physical health, be sure to pencil in your calendar some free time just for you. Maybe you need time by yourself or with your family, it will be time away from business and will definitely improve your mental state. In addition to freeing up time, you could rid yourself of some unhealthy habits such as too much alcohol or eating fatty foods. Maybe you can start to exercise more, read a book, or schedule a meal during the day with your friends, colleagues, or family.
To start the New Year’s off right with your business this year, take some time before January 1 to make a few New Year’s resolutions for your business. Then do everything you can to stick to the script and make these resolutions a reality. If you had a tumultuous year in 2020, this might be your chance to turn things around and improve and elevate your business to the level where you want it to be.
If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to increase the size of your company, replace vehicles or equipment, or add a new wing or building to your existing one, give us a call at Affinity Beyond Capital today. Call (833) 234-6489 and speak to one of our lending professionals who will find you the perfect type of business loan to fit your company’s needs.