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A new year is a fantastic time to refresh and re-energise your business.
As 2017 rolls around, it’s a chance for you and your business to assess where you are at, what issues may have been mounting that can be fixed, and where you want to take the business over the next 12-months.
But you know as well as I do that unless you really sit down to plan, identify some goals, and make sure it happens, nothing will change.
So, time to make some new year’s resolutions for your business. Here are a couple that I’ve found are a great starting point.
Get planning
They say that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. If your business is going to achieve anything this year, it’s going to need a roadmap and some real, tangible goals and objectives.
Big businesses do this religiously every year – they plan out their marketing objectives for the year, outline revenue targets and then detail the exact steps to achieving those targets. This is something every small business needs to be doing too.
Plug the leaks
I hate the feeling of knowing your business is leaking money but not knowing where or how to stop it.
But over the course of a year, as we get busier and busier and processes fall by the wayside, this can become incredibly harmful for your business.
Over the new year period get your reports out, go through with a fine-toothed comb, and look at where you could be saving money. Then spend some time shopping around for ways to cut costs.
Sites like Small Business First can really help. For example, there’s currently an offer from Uber for business which could take a bucket load off your travel costs.
Get paid on time
It’s so important to your business to get paid on time. If late-paying customers have been an issue, it’s time to address it. Identify your worst paying customers and question whether they are worth hanging onto.
Change your payment terms to include upfront deposits, incentives for early payment, or even late fees. And automate your reminders so that you don’t need to be chasing up payments on the due date.
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