At the start of a New Year we believe that every business should take the time to sit down, reflect on the past year and consider plans for the year ahead. It is the perfect time to take stock of what has worked and what has not.
Although you may have a business plan that runs for your financial year, a new calendar year can work as a fresh start and give you the perfect excuse to reflect on how your current goals are performing and make any necessary changes.
We work closely with our clients to help make sure they are keeping on track of their business goals and provide advice where we can.
Here are our 5 top tips for a New Year business plan refresh…
- Determine what needs to improve?
It is important to understand what areas of the business are not quite performing as they should. This will enable you to concentrate on finding a solution of what you can do to improve them. Try to focus on 3 key areas in which you want to improve. Breaking your goals down into smaller, more manageable chunks will help make achieving them seem less overwhelming and more importantly, will make success more likely.
- Are you getting the best price from your suppliers?
One area which you may be able to save money is by ensuring you are receiving the most competitive prices from your suppliers. Have you also been receiving the best service? It may be time to consider trying out new suppliers to see what else is on the market.
- Determine what you’ll need to achieve your growth targets
To achieve growth, you may need an increase in resources – this could mean more staff, materials, or time. You will then need to think about how you will achieve this and what needs to change to make it happen.
- What did your competitors do?
The New Year is a great time to dust off the competitor research. Why not look at what they have done over the last year and what seemed to work for them. Are they offering something you are not? What does their marketing look like? You may learn something that could really help you make a plan that will work.
- Have a contingency plan
It’s always important to plan for the unexpected, sometimes there are things that are out of your control which can have a negative impact on your business plan, for example staff issues or changes in the economy. So, it is important to make sure you have left room in your budget and have a backup source of funding to help smooth any bumps in the road.
If you would like help in setting up your New Year business plan, then call one of the team today…
