Photo: WikipediaIt’s a new year so it means it’s time for a new you and while personal goals are nice to set, have you ever thought about setting some for your business?
Obviously, the stakes are much lower with personal resolutions, because generally there are no penalties for failing to lose five pounds or reading more often. On the other hand, failing to learn how to manage your cash flow could leave you in the dark as to whether your business is in trouble or not.
The key to having successful resolutions is to be realistic and break the goal down into smaller amounts. Setting daily, weekly and monthly goals to reach your one large goal can help make a dream a reality.
Here are some possible resolutions that you can make that will be good for both you and your business.
Add new clients
As morbid as it might sound, clients die. They can also move or simply decide they no longer need your services. Instead of waiting for all your faithful customers to eventually leave you, be actively seeking out new prospects.
If you never answer the phone, you could come across as busy and already have all the business you need. Taking the time to follow up can ensure that referrals don’t slip through the cracks. There are lots of methods for generating leads all from cold calling to advertising and you can try a little bit of each until you find what works well for your business. Adding one client a month can be a more tangible concept than the nebulous “gain new business” goal.
Improve your digital presence
If your website looks like it was created back in the 90s, it might be time to overhaul it. While you may think if it’s not broke don’t fix it, websites that look dated can cause some visitors to question if you are even still in business.
This is also a chance for you to become more faithful and dependable with your social media or blog posts. Regularly showing up in people’s news feed rather than once in a blue moon allows you to stay relevant in potential customers’ minds.
Delegate more
As an owner or manager, it may be hard to let things go and trust someone else to get the job done, causing you to generally be overwhelmed and overworked. Delegation is easier said than done because it requires effort and a loss of control. Yet if you’re always caught up in doing minor tasks than focusing on the big picture, growth is much harder to achieve.
The key to being able to delegate is to train the employee to the point you know they can competently handle the job and communicate clearly what you expect and when you want things done so you don’t have to micromanage. You can create guidelines to train staff or hold training sessions periodically so that your hard work isn’t lost if that one employee ends up leaving eventually.
Give back to the community
This one might not come naturally to mind when thinking of ways you can improve your business, but giving back to the community can go a long way. When your company helps out, people tend to want to support your business in return and it can also help build your good reputation.
Aside from that, employees often respect leaders who do good and it can improve their morale when they know they are working for a company that helps make their community a pleasant place to live. There are multiple ways to make a difference in your community so all you have to do is find one that speaks to you.
