5 ways of zhooshing up your business
THE start of a new year is always a great time to re-evaluate your business plans and operations, and to ask yourself if there’s anything you could do better.
Here are a few ideas for getting a good start to 2016: 1. Set your goals for the year
ahead During the first few days of the new year, take a bit of time to think about your goals for the calendar year ahead. Focus especially on the aspects of your business that you neglect in the busyness of day-today survival.
Do you want to target new customer segments? Fix up your ageing IT setup? Hire new staff members? Write down each goal, along with a deadline and a metric for success. 2. Get in touch with your
customers The first week or so of a new year is an ideal time to get in touch with people and set up meetings.
Send a New Year’s greeting to people who have opted in to receive your e-mails or text messages.
Give your important contacts a quick phone call to catch up. This will help put you on the radar for your key clients right from the start of the year. 3. Get ready for the financial
year-end The tax year-end looms on February 29, so avoid the rush and start preparing now.
Chase down debtors with longstanding invoices, evaluate your inventory and consider what your tax bill will look like. Perhaps you could benefit from using extra cash to invest in new computers or delivery vehicles? Maybe you’d like to put some goods you have in stock on sale so you can move them before the new tax year?
Think about how you can optimise your profitability before the last day of February.
4. Freshen up your marketing A new year is a good time to give your business a fresh coat of marketing paint.
Audit your website, brochures, business cards and other marketing material to ensure they re up-todate and professionally presented. 5. Think about training for yourself and your staff In a business world that moves as fast as ours, it’s important to stay up to date with the latest trends.
Think about the gaps in your team’s skills and knowledge and book some courses and seminars.
Some ideas might be an e-marketing course to get up to speed with the latest trends in digital marketing, seminars about the latest developments in tax regulation and labour law or general financial management and leadership courses to sharpen your business acumen.