End of Year Reflection
It’s that time of the year again, where the decorations start to appear in the shops (let’s be honest, they’ve been up for weeks), and the all familiar jingles play on repeat until our ears start to bleed. For some this is a joyous time of celebration, for others, not so much. But for most, this time of year is where we reflect on our choices and progress over the last 12 months. Often this results in New Year’s Resolutions, which if you’re anything like me, are usually the same things that were on the list 12 months ago…don’t tell my gym!
During this period of personal reflection, why not look back at the business decisions for the year as well?
Sometimes when you’re busy running your business you fall into routine, just checking boxes to get through each day. Without spending time specifically on Business Development you run the risk of becoming stagnant in a world of change, and falling behind. Your competitors are most certainly not sitting still, so make sure you’re one step ahead of them and plan for the future.
Here’s a quick list of things to ponder:
- Did you take risks, and did they pay off?
- Have you moved your business forward?
- What worked, and what didn’t?
- What can you do better next year?
Have you considered innovating the way you perform your tasks? What about web-based improvements? Today’s society is more and more moving towards online purchasing. If you’re not actively developing a user-friendly web presence then you’ll be missing out on a key market demographic. Recent research by Salesforce and Publicis.Sapient found that a staggering 87% of consumers now start their shopping journey online. The report identified that even if a consumer’s first purchase is from the retail store, any subsequent/repeat purchases of that product are likely to be online. And now is a great time to look at your online presence and make any necessary changes to your digital footprint.
Likewise, social media is taking businesses to places they’ve never dreamed; web-friendly businesses are finding global reach through viral content and good social media practices. Ensuring your business has a social media presence and is joining in the conversation online is critical to running a successful modern business.
Have you moved to the Cloud yet? Imagine having access to all your business information from anywhere, all the time, and securely! It goes beyond just storing your files – business software can now be run directly from the cloud, and the information that goes into it can be analysed automatically by the right apps to provide you with metrics and information on your business that would otherwise take weeks of hard work to compile.
“This is your opportunity to stop for a while and really think about what you can do on your business.”
Can your staff work from home, or be mobile on the road visiting clients face to face? What does that look like in your industry? Is your business spread over multiple sites? Can your staff meet virtually, and collaborate easily?
We’ve all heard it before, “Work on your business, not in your business”, but that’s hard to do when you’re running a small business. It needs your time. This is your opportunity to stop for a while and really think about what you can do on your business.
You don’t even have to do it yourself, there are experts out there who specialise in these things. At Delta, we have consultants who can help you understand where your bottlenecks are, how to open profit by cutting unnecessary costs, and how to move forward into the future through innovation and change.
Our friendly staff have helped businesses all around the greater Townsville region and out west add and improve on services that cut wasted manual labour, automate document workflows, and connect to cloud storage and apps. Our IT Department also engages actively in education and improvement of their knowledge so they can provide up to date and advanced solutions to old problems, and as Townsville’s Optus Business Centre we’re helping break unhealthy Telco relationships to establish trusted and managed accounts for both fixed (landline and internet) services, and mobile services.
This coming year, let’s change up the New Year’s Resolutions, and instead of metaphorically just renewing that gym membership, why not have a look at what you can do differently that will really set you apart from your competition?
And if anything of what we have mentioned has touched on areas you would like changed in your business in 2020, reach out and give us a call on 07 4771 7888.
