The start of a new year is full of expectation and promise. It’s also the perfect time to reflect on your business goals for the next 12 months, and how you can turn them into reality says Peter DiCaprio.
Here are some tips on how you can make your business grow in 2018.
1. Define Your Business Goals For The Year Ahead… And Priorities Them
What are your short term goals? What do you hope to achieve by the end of March? By September? How about December? Asking yourself what exactly you want to accomplish throughout this year will help bring more clarity to where your company stands right now, what direction it needs to take moving forward, and how it’ll get there. A few areas that most businesses usually focus on in the beginning of the year include:
- Personal development and growth in your employees (i.e. education, training and networking).
- Improving existing products, services or processes.
- Developing new products, services or processes.
- Initiating cost reduction/efficiency-enhancing projects.
2. Work off a Plan and Prepare Your Team In Advance for the Changes to Come
Once you’ve set your goals for the year ahead, it’s time to get everyone on board with them by creating a plan of action that will help you achieve them. And once people know what to expect from their jobs and company within a specific timeframe or period of time, make sure they’re fully prepared for what lies ahead. As we all know, when we’re taken by surprise at work with a change in management or the introduction of new ideas and procedures in our business, it can lead to inefficiencies and negative attitudes says Peter DiCaprio. So in order to minimize last minute changes, make sure you communicate your goals early so your staff knows what they’ll be focusing on for the coming months.
3. Evaluate Your Performance throughout the Year by Converting Objectives into Metrics and Track Their Progress
Once you’ve set your annual objectives and prepared yourself and your team for them, you need to monitor their progress throughout the year. This will allow you to quickly identify areas that are lagging behind or where there’s room for improvement. Also known as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), they include monthly, quarterly or yearly targets that can help you measure the success of your efforts. These objectives should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound) so they’re easier to understand and make sense of your company’s progress throughout the year.
4. Don’t Underestimate A Very Important Yet Often Overlooked Phase Of Your Business… It’s Called ‘The Post-Planning Stage’
While all the planning in the world is pointless if it isn’t followed by action, don’t forget that how well your plan works out will depend on how committed your employees are to implementing it. A good business plan usually only functions as effectively as its team members do.
FAQs:
How does brainstorming fit into the planning stage of business growth?
Brainstorming is a technique used to generate creative ideas about how to achieve your stated goal. It’s usually done with all members of your team, or with colleagues who can lend their expertise in certain areas. Once you’ve outlined your company’s current status and written down your goals for the coming year, it’s time to have everyone share their thoughts on ways they can be achieved explains Peter DiCaprio. This will help you come up with viable options that will work best for you at this specific point in time.
How early should I begin planning my new business’ strategy?
Ideally, as soon as possible! The more prepared you are throughout the, the better… because if you don’t, you’ll have to deal with a lot of last minute changes that will only add stress and frustration to your load. In addition, it takes time for you to really get on track and understand where your company stands within the industry. So before spending too much money or resources on getting start. Its best if you can plan ahead on how you want your business’ journey to look like.
Conclusion:
The key to a flourishing business with confident employees is to begin planning early. Set clear objectives and make sure you, your team members and even outsiders are well-inform about them. This is the best way for everyone including your customers to see that you mean business.
