What will you do differently this year to achieve more business success?
I used to wonder why most people have to wait until the new year before they start coming up with ‘resolutions’ to improve their quality of life. Isn’t every day an opportunity to change for the better? What I’ve come to realise is that the new year always gives us that feeling to go for a ‘fresh start’ in every aspect of our lives.
In business, formulating those ‘resolutions’ is always nice to do early in the year, not only because of that feeling of getting a new beginning, but also because most measurements of success in business are done in a yearly manner. It only makes sense to come up with changes and improvements at the start of the new year.
In 2018, learn from your shortcomings in the past and become better at leading your team and managing your business.
Grasp the concept of delegation and make it part of your leadership style
As a business owner, your list of things to do can be overwhelming if you don’t know how to manage tasks intelligently. Remember, you can only work so many hours in a day. This year, don’t allow yourself to always get exhausted, stressed and not have any free time outside of your business. Delegation is the key to a healthy work-life balance. To have the resolution to do this, make sure your employees are trained enough and capable of taking over some of your tasks. Clearly communicate the objectives and deadlines, so that you don’t end up micromanaging.
Learn to love technology a little bit more
Have you been working with outdated technology? Slow internet speeds, clunky operating systems and inadequate tools can eat up valuable time and may frustrate both your customers and employees. Make an inventory list of all your business supplies to see what needs replacing or what things are lacking. Maybe it’s time to implement that online ordering system, or maybe your team could use new computers. Start the year off right by upgrading your technology footprint.
Manage your cash flow more effectively
As I’ve discussed before, cash flow is the lifeblood of any business. In fact, most businesses fail due to poor cash flow management. Take some time to really understand the day-to-day finances of the business. It’s important to manage your cash flow so you always have enough on hand to pay for rent, utilities, telephone, insurance, payroll and supplies. This means you need to foresee when your accounts receivable are due and compare that to the due dates for your unsettled bills. You can manage your cash flow by reducing the amount of time you give customers to pay and by renegotiating due dates with vendors. If you’re not able to manage cash flow successfully, you may not be able to keep up with your expenses and keep your company operating.
Keep learning something new
New year, new knowledge, new skill. Pick something new to learn in 2018. It may be directly related to your business or something that enhances your character and behavior as a leader. Take marketing classes or learn a new language. Learning a new skill will add a dimension of interest to your life that will help to maintain that work-life balance. It will also help you to get out of your comfort zone and create more opportunities
Determine what is not working, drop it and move on
You won’t always know what will work in business, but you certainly have to know exactly what’s not working. Perhaps your sales method isn’t going well, or maybe one of your products isn’t selling or a specific partnership isn’t working out. Evaluate these weaknesses and determine whether it’s time to drop them. The worst thing you can do is to repeat the same mistakes all over again this year. Don’t invest a lot of energy into trying to make the unworkable workable. Sometimes you need to move on for something better to turn up.
If you think you need direction in becoming a better business leader, don’t hesitate to seek professional guidance. REACH the full potential of your company by working with a Business Coach like myself. My extensive clientele consists of companies based in all of the Midlands including Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire. Discover how REACH Business Coaching can help you grow your business by attending our free workshops and seminars.
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