2019 is drawing to a close, which means it is time for a new year… and for most people, a new year means new goals. This is especially true for business owners who want to expand and grow their business in 2020. After all, growth rarely comes without some effort – and there are nearly 6 million small businesses in the UK, so if you want to stand out it can be useful to get ahead of the curve!
Thankfully we are here to help. We have compiled some of the most useful tips for small businesses who want to grow, so you can prepare your business for the new year.
1. How To Prepare Your Business For The New Year: Establish New Resolutions
The first thing you should do to prepare your business for the new year is establish new resolutions. It can be tempting to set giant, epic goals that sound cool (such as “my business will make over £1,000,000”) but many people struggle to stick to unrealistic goals, so go for simple, attainable goals that can be accomplished within 12 months (such as “I want to raise profits by 20%).
Once you have set a few targets, come up with a sensible way to measure your progress; maybe you could have quarterly meetings with staff to ensure goals are being completed, or maybe you could monitor monthly profits.
It can also be useful to reflect on the previous year by asking yourself these three questions; what worked well for your business? What didn’t work well? What should be changed?
2. Draft A Business Plan
Once you have reflected on the previous year and set new resolutions, you can draft a business plan for the year. This doesn’t need to be complex or long-winded; just write down your goals, and then a few bullet points on how you will track your goal. As the year goes on this plan will be developed and updated, but for now start by actually writing down a basic plan to help you achieve your goals.
3. Draft A New Marketing Plan
If you want to succeed as a business owner it can also be helpful to draft a new marketing plan. This is because marketing is an essential part of running a business, and marketing tactics often change as the months pass by. So look at your marketing efforts; do you have more success with certain channels (such as Instagram)? Do you see results from your marketing? Are there other marketing channels you haven’t tried (such as Google Ads)?
4. Review Costs
You should also take some time to review business costs. Over a half of small UK businesses struggle with finances, so it is very important to make sure you are on top of yours; look at this year’s profit margins, and identify any low earning months. Take some time to assess why this might have happened, then look at potential solutions. If you have an accountant we definitely recommend that you have this conversation with them, as it is likely that they will have tips and suggestions that will benefit your business.
5. Consider Updating Your Resources
Finally you may want to think about updating your resources. Technology is constantly changing and evolving, and every year hundreds of new tools are designed specifically for businesses. This includes handy apps and websites, as well as assistance services such as our own. So have a look and see if there is anything out there that can help your business!
