Happy New Year, we hope you had a joyous holiday season!
The New Year means a fresh start and a great excuse to set some achievable goals. That’s why you’ve probably made a New Year’s resolution for yourself – so why not make one for your business to have a prosperous 2019?
Here are our top 10 tips for achieving your goal of a successful business:
1. Have a clear vision.
Having a clear vision is essential for success. Do you have a goal for the number of clients you’ll have or the number of employees? Having a clear vision of where you want your business to go will help contribute to its success.
2. Have a business plan.
You know where you want to go, now you need to plan how to get there. Do this by creating a detailed plan of exactly how you will make your business successful.
Writing out your business plan forces you to review everything at once – your marketing strategies, operations plan, financial plan and staffing plan – helping you spot connections you may have otherwise missed.
Set goals of what you plan accomplish in the next 12 months and evaluate. This helps keep your long-term goals on track and helps you figure out what’s working and the changes that need to be implemented.
3. Create short-term goals.
Have measurable, short-term goals. Specifically, identify what the company needs to achieve in the next quarter, month and week to ensure that you meet your annual goals.
Goal-setting is an ongoing process. This shouldn’t only be about generating revenue, but also service offerings, business growth and enhancing the business.
4. Prioritize skill development.
Because success is the result of expanding your knowledge and developing those skills to the best of your ability, skill development should be never-ending. To be successful, businesses should commit resources and time to training their employees to ensure that everyone can work as effectively and efficiently for the business.
You should provide continual training for your employees – and we can help! Did you know we will be offering Universal Office training at a highly discounted rate? It’s coming soon, so stay tuned!
5. Be a great marketer.
Businesses usually receive the most success through their marketing efforts, so ensure that your business has a clear marketing plan in place. Of course, if you’re providing a good service to your customers, you will benefit from word of mouth recommendations, but businesses typically need to grow at a faster rate to stay afloat.
The key to your marketing plan is to utilize as many marketing channels as possible. Check out our blog on How to Launch A Successful Email Marketing Campaign to learn more.
6. Get to know your customers.
One of the best characteristics of a successful business is knowing your customers and meeting their needs.
Being able to understand what your customers need is the foundation of every successful business. The more you know about your customers, the more effective your marketing efforts will be. Start by talking to them – you’ll learn a great deal!
7. Be willing to change.
If you are committed to developing a successful business, it’s important for you to think on your feet and to be willing to change if something isn’t working. With today’s changing and competitive business scene, the ability to change and adapt is essential. You will know when change is necessary by regularly evaluating and adapting your business plan and goals.
8. Be financially prepared.
Many small businesses struggle in their first year, typically with unexpected expenses. The reason many businesses fail isn’t because they are unprofitable, but because they are unable to pay their debts when they’re due.
It’s important to be financially ready for the unexpected. Set up a business cash advance so you can put more budget into your business plans or even expand your business with less worry.
9. Never give up.
There can be significant ups and downs along the way. However, you should never give up, even when business looks bad. By sticking to your business plan, you can ensure that you reach your goals and that your resolution can become reality.
10. Be passionate.
Above all, you need to believe in your success.
Of course it’s impossible to have a successful business if you don’t believe it will be successful and if you aren’t truly passionate about your work. If you have a passion for the service you provide, then you are likely to be more productive with your business and help it to grow.
Here’s to a very happy and prosperous 2019.
