The New Year is an exciting time when change is in the air, and now is the time to take an honest look at how your company has performed over the past 12 months to determine what it needs to grow. While personal resolutions may get cast aside once the hype of the holiday season is over, the ones you set for your small business can be turned into actionable goals. As you reflect upon the past year, you can use these resolutions as inspiration to drive your company’s future growth.
Grow Your Team and Delegate
If you’ve been aiming for better work-life balance, then this resolution could serve double duty as a personal and business goal. Small business owners are known for wearing many hats, and it’s possible that your company has grown to the point that you desperately need help. Ask yourself what tasks might best be handled by someone else. The need to hire a receptionist or promote a current member of your team to management are all signs that your company is following an upward path.
Give Back to the Community
Charitable work and contributions don’t just make your company look good. They elevate the entire community so that everyone can enjoy your company’s products and services. Identify places in your community that your company could help. For instance, your home remodeling business could help build low-income housing. Alternatively, you could offer to speak to a high school group about the path to entrepreneurship. These types of experiences help to show your company in a positive light, and you’ll love how it feels to be fully involved in your community.
Update Your Online Presence
When was the last time that you really took a good look at your company website? Or, you may still be on the fence about setting up a social media profile. Try to remember that online interactions provide a great way to stir up interest about your company. Try making it a goal to post a social media update once a week, and be sure to highlight the work you are doing in the community. Then, have web analytics performed to determine how you could improve your company’s website search rankings.
Invest in New Technology
Putting money back into your business is essential for growth. While it often seems as though new technology springs forth before you have a chance to finish the old system’s installation, this is one area where most companies can benefit. Take a good look at how your employees perform their duties to identify places that could use some updating. For instance, you could use project management software to streamline communication between your employees and customers, or your office crew could need faster computers to increase their productivity.
Identify a New Target Market
When things are going well, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut and keep doing what works. However, it is possible that there is an entire market of people who have not yet heard about your company’s products and services. Whether you need to look into international trading or just need to consider marketing your company’s products to a different local demographic, opening up a new target audience keeps things exciting and drives growth.
As with any New Year’s resolution, the best way to make them stick is to take immediate action. Now that you’ve got yours in mind, be proactive and start working on a plan that makes each one part of your company’s focus this year.
