As New Year resolution time rolls around, don’t forget about your business. Every business can benefit from a few resolutions of its own!
Try these ideas that any business can use to build some New Year resolutions that will support the sustainable growth of your business.
Update (or Write) Your Business Plan
Many business plans sit gathering dust on a shelf. Or worse, haven’t even been committed to paper. But a well thought out, written and effectively implemented business plan is an invaluable tool for any business.
Creating a business plan is a major undertaking – definitely worth a New Year resolution – and should include (at least) these key sections:
- Business description
- Products and services
- Market analysis, including customers and competitors
- The all-important SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats)
- Organisation and management
- The financial plan, including funding and financial projections
- Plenty of detailed information on creating a business plan can be found online
Implement A Plan To Promote Your Business
The marketing plan is an important section of any business plan. How are you going to let potential customers know you exist? What story do you want to convey?
The Internet has lead to an explosion in the number of ways in which businesses, even very small ones, can promote themselves. Websites and blogs, email newsletters and social media posts, search engine marketing, and online ads allow businesses to market themselves to highly targeted audiences, sometimes at low or zero cost.
The downside is that all this can take a considerable amount of time. So while it is possible for many small businesses to manage their own digital marketing, outsourcing this function to experts may be a more cost-effective option.
Perform An Internal Audit
Exactly what needs auditing will depend on the individual business, but common areas to take a look at may include:
- Stock levels and stock turnover rate
- Key accounting parameters such as accounts receivable, average payment times, cash flow, and debt
- Business insurances: cyber insurance, key person insurance, public liability and professional indemnity insurance, and workers’ compensation
- Business systems and processes. Is the business running efficiently? What are the opportunities for improvement?
- Staffing levels, turnover rate, and employee satisfaction
Improve Internal Communications
When employees feel their efforts are both recognised and appreciated, businesses are often rewarded by improved staff retention and productivity.
That appreciation can be communicated in many ways; narrowly through wage reviews and promotions, and more broadly through the support of a social club (good for improving communication between employees), the celebration of milestones, and other fun, seasonal events.
Consult Your Experts
Your accountant is ideally placed to help with your financial analysis. An insurance broker can help you get the best deal on the general insurances you need and your financial planner can advise on personal insurances for purposes including key person and succession planning.
This list is intended to be inspiring rather than daunting, and you may want to tackle it one or two resolutions at a time.
But just imagine the day when all this is done and the only New Year resolution you need to make for your business is ‘keep doing what we’re doing!’
This represents general information only. Before making any financial or investment decisions, we recommend you consult a financial planner to take into account your personal investment objectives, financial situation and individual needs. Speak with a tax accounting specialist (such as TBFG) who is up-to-date with applicable deductions, tax law, and business structuring to get you the biggest return on your EOFY tax assessment.
