2013 is a time for?
We all start the year reflecting on last year and looking at where we want to be this year. We review our goals from last year, tick off what we achieved, and roll forward any long term outstanding goals.
Now more than ever, setting the road map has never been as important. With a challenging business environment facing us each day and the record breaking insolvencies of businesses last year looming over us, small businesses need to focus on the year ahead and determine how they will make it better than last year.
If you are looking for some inspiration, below is a recent survey of businesses prepared by MYOB. The results are in order of what other small businesses have on their to-do list for this year.
- Improve my systems and processes
- Increase the time I spend working on my business rather than in it
- Increase my customer acquisition activities
- Increase my product/service range
- Increase my customer retention activities
- Increase my prices
- Start a succession plan
- Increase the geographical areas I service
- Increase my number of staff
- Increase my online marketing spend
As you will see reading through these, some may not be unlike ones you already have on your list and some may have been items that you have not yet consider.
Looking through this myself, I find it hard to believe that the elusive profit does not feature in any of these. Now yes by doing some of these, it may lead to an increase in INCOME, but that doesnt automatically mean your profit will increase!
While reading through the above, you should be thinking of goals that you would like to achieve. Think about where you want to drive your business to, how you will get there and what you need to do to get there.
So what will you have on your list for this year?
Use this forum as a discussion point on items that you might like to achieve, put out there some of your goals and use that as the motivation to achieve it. Telling someone your goals always make you strive harder to achieve them!
