The New Year is upon us and it’s time to quick your business into gear. Whether you’re a well-established business or you’ve been dreaming of starting a business for years, now is the time to get started. A lot of work goes into starting a business, so if you’re reading this, you may not be able to get started on January 1st.
But, that isn’t to say that you can’t get yourself and your business organised for the year ahead. If you want your business to succeed in 2019, you can get started with a few of these simple tips to make your business life a lot easier and better.
Take A Look At Your Business Plan
If you’ve just responded with “What business plan?”, then that’s where you’ll need to start. A business that is built to succeed has been formed with a business plan in mind. If you’re not sure where to start, you can always use a good resource such as Enloop, which allows you to create a business plan online. You can then pay to keep updating it as your business grows.
Assess your business plan and see where you are travelling compared to where your goals were set. Are you reaching your goals? Is your business using funds appropriately? Are you making money at the end of the day/week/month/year? Your business plan will help you to assess if you’re still on the right track.
Set New Year’s Business Resolutions
Not all New Year’s resolutions are about losing weight, getting more exercise or eating better. When you’re making personal resolutions, don’t forget to make resolutions for your business. What do you want to achieve in the New Year? Do you want to see more customers walk through your door? Do you want to increase productivity with your staff members? Whatever it is you want to achieve, be specific and ensure you can measure your results throughout the year.
Think About Hiring Needs
Are your current staff able to complete their tasks efficiently? If you think you could use some extra assistance this year, the start of the year is a good opportunity to find new team members. If you don’t think you have the budget to hire staff on a full-time or part-time basis, there are a number of different freelance and virtual positions that may be of good use to your business. There are a number of highly-trained individuals out there who are happy to work with you on a project by project basis or just when you need the extra help.
Get Rid Of The Small Tasks
Having a million small tasks to do is going to give you a mountain of issues in the long-term. Instead, focus on getting rid of all of the small tasks that pop up throughout your work week so you can focus on the bigger things. Spend that extra ten minutes on replying to emails. Get rid of that paperwork that is sitting on your desk. Getting small tasks completed will give you more motivation and a sense of accomplishment.
Refresh Employee Skills
When was the last time your staff did some training? Whether it’s on the job training or an outside training organisation, making sure your staff are properly skilled helps your business. Now is a good time to assess their current skills and either refresh what they know or help them to learn new skills. Maybe some staff don’t know how to use a particular software in-house or your staff could get a refresher course in customer service. Either way, your staff will be thankful for the knowledge and provide better service to you and your customers.
No matter what industry you’re in, if you’re heading into 2019 without any goals for your business, you may not grow as much as you’d like. Use this time to re-assess your business, your goals and your needs. At Meetings Into Minutes, we hope you have a fantastic New Year and a successful 2019.
Looking for a minute-taker for your business? If you don’t want to hire a full-time or part-time assistant to help with minute taking at your organisation, we can help. Have a chat with Meetings Into Minutes today about your needs. We can assist with one-off meetings or regularly scheduled meetings.
