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But you’ll only be able to succeed in the New Year if you’re adequately prepared for it. And it’s not always clear how to go about this. With multiple decisions to make and market conditions that are not totally predictable, you’d think you have your work cut out for you. Thankfully, there are a number of general tips you can follow to get your enterprise ready for a year of significant progress. Adhering to them will enable you to build a business that thrives. We’ll discuss six of those steps below.
Begin Early
Don’t wait until the New Year comes around to plan for it. Ideally, you’ll want to begin preparing your business at least a few weeks prior to that. Starting early will give you plenty of time to examine everything you need to check out (including finances, inventory, obligations, etc.), get a sweeping view of where your enterprise is in terms of its performance, and fix whatever isn’t working efficiently. If you don’t start the process early, you’ll end up rushing it and won’t get the best out of it.Review Your Financial Performance
Take a long and thorough look at your finances, with the aim of ascertaining how well your business has done over the past twelve months. Review your assets, accounts, and financial statements. Find out how well they compare to the targets you set at the beginning of the year. Look at the performance of each product or service and the company as a whole. How have they done, in the light of prevailing industry and economic conditions? What items contributed the most (and least) to the total sales volume? And what changes can you make to improve the business’s growth indices?Sign up for the Connect Nigeria daily newsletter
Make A Budget
It’s important that you make a budget for the coming year, detailing the revenues you expect to make in that period and the expenses you believe you’ll incur in that time frame. Begin by preparing a financial projection for revenues and profits you’ll bring in (based on estimated sales and other sources), and by building a list of things you’ll spend on along with what they’ll cost. When you’ve laid all these things out, you’ll have a clear financial roadmap for the next year.Audit Your Communication Channels
You will need your communication channels to function optimally in order to reach your target audience. This is crucial to gaining leads and converting them into paying customers. If you aren’t satisfied with the results you’ve gotten out of your emails, cold calls, instant messages and social media, you should definitely audit your marketing and communications strategies to find out why they’re underperforming. When you discover the shortcomings responsible, fix them and come up with tactics that can help improve the conversions you achieve.Discuss Ideas With Your Team
If you work with a team, you’d be better off involving them in your business’s preparation for the next twelve months. They are a part of your company; the roles they play, taken together, could either support your business’s success or cause its failure. You will want to get the input of staff whose work contributes significantly to your company’s bottom line. They may have ideas for improving their efficiency at their jobs, or for bettering outcomes elsewhere within the enterprise.Register to attend the CN Business Mixer
Examine Staffing Issues
As we’ve already noted, your workers are an extremely important part of your business. If they perform well, your organization stands a chance of recording wins. But if their output is subpar, your business will suffer. As you go into the New Year, you’ll need to review their recent performance and decide on what can be done to make them do better. They may need to take specific courses and get trained in skills that are relevant to their roles. Perhaps you also have to replace certain staff or hire more workers.Final Words
It’s certainly possible for you to achieve your business ambitions for the coming year if they’re realistic. Your preparation should commence early, and involve planning your finances for the coming period. Also, be sure to review your marketing and communication, have a look at your staff performance, and involve your team when setting up strategies for the future. Featured Image Source: ELO ConsultingGot a suggestion? Contact us: editor@connectnigeria.com
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