This December, as the dust and tinsel settles, many of us will look back on 2017 and identify what can be improved upon as we move into the new year.
The usual clichés will apply: get fit, be better with money, learn a language, and the list goes on. But should our new year’s resolutions be limited to personal growth?
For those looking to start, grow or establish a business, reflections should also extend to these ventures. Luckily, to get you started, we’ve created a neat list of five tried and tested new year’s resolutions for your business:
- Regularly and consistently promote your business.
Promoting a small business can drop to the bottom of your to-do list. Attracting new customers means making promotion a priority. One of your top New Year's resolutions should be to create a marketing plan and stick to it.
- Set realistic goals.
Goal setting is key, so resolve to set goals that are achievable, rather than unrealistic ones that will only lead to disappointment.
- Stop doing what's not working for you.
Not all sales methods are going to work for everyone, and not all suppliers are going to be an ideal match for your business. If a technique or business relationship isn't working, stop using it. Don't invest energy into trying to make the unworkable work. Stop, assess, move on, better opportunities will exist.
- Make sure your website content is the best it can be.
Your website is your shop window. Take an objective look at your current website. Are there calls to action? Are SEO keywords included whenever possible? Your website text is your sales pitch. Would you buy from your website?
- Thinking beyond the financials.
Usually, key measures for small business success are financial or operational metrics, such as turnover or profit. However, quick growth can impact quality: quality of service or quality of experience. Remember, thinking about what your business feels like to a customer is an important benchmark of success. Incorporate customer focused metrics such as customer satisfaction or customer churn into your business goals to ensure customer satisfaction and long term success.
In December, January and February we have a number of workshops focused on goal setting, business growth, finance and personal growth. For full details visit our event page.
Before you can attend a workshop, you must first register with the Enterprise Steps programme (if you haven’t already). There is no cost to register and our workshops are free to attend, if you meet certain criteria. To find out if your business qualifies, contact us.
Part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Enterprise Steps is a project led by Newham College with partners London South Bank University and Enterprise for London.