Last Updated on Apr 3, 2020 by James W
Now that the year is almost done, and by the end of the month you’re already wrapping up all the holiday sales, it’s time to look forward to 2017. Start preparing for the new year with these business management tips:
Create goals and strategies
Take a look back on what you have accomplished in your business. What are the aspects that you need to improve? Which strategies were effective and made the most impact? Who were your most frequent customers and what do they buy from you? Learn from this and set new goals and strategies for the new year. Be sure to break it up into short-term goals, so you can see the progress and assess your business from time to time. Focus on 1-3 key goals and create a strategy for each on how you’re going to accomplish them.
Find the right people
Managing your business won’t be that difficult if you’ve got the right people on your team. It’s time to deliberate whether or not your current employees are contributing to the success of your business. If you haven’t hired some people yet, think about whether you would need to have a partner or team to assist in carrying out your goals for the year. Having a staff that is enthusiastic, flexible, and full of skills can help move your business forward. Diego Orjuela, CEO of Cables and Sensors, asserted that it is best to bring in someone with experience and talent during your first hire since this is a crucial part to set your business.
Establish systems
Your business is bound to grow and expand in the future, which is why having an established system could help weed out unnecessary times spent on trivial things. This will hinder your time supposedly devoted to making your business better. First, make a list of processes that you think are time-consuming. Then, create a doable system that you and your employees can use to make those processes easier, faster, and more efficient.
Automate tasks
For repetitive tasks, you can do batching so you’ll be able to work on them in one go. For example, receiving the same inquiries from customers and replying to them one by one can drain your energy and time. Why not gather them all and sort out the similar ones, then create an email template that you can send. Another example is when you’re doing social media marketing and scheduling posts. Instead of doing this every day, try setting 2-3 hours to schedule everything at once. It’s straightforward and efficient.
Prepare your marketing collaterals
How are you going to attract more customers this year? It’s best to have your marketing collaterals ready before the months get busy. Make sure that your printed or digital marketing materials tell everything a customer needs to know about your business or products. This will eventually persuade them to make a purchase from you or try out your services. A marketing collateral is significant because it supports your business’ sales process.