Many of us make New Year’s Resolutions for our small businesses. We take the fresh calendar year as an opportunity to better our business practice and make necessary changes to improve a whole manner of things related to our company’s profits, appearance and reputation. But why put things off? You don’t need to wait until a given date to focus on bettering our projects. As the old saying goes: procrastination is the thief of time. Here are a few areas that you may like to focus on sooner rather than later.
Get Organised
Something that often tops lists of resolutions? Organisation. Being organised has a whole host of benefits for any small business. This applies to areas ranging from to taxes to advertising payroll. One of the key benefits of getting organised is how much time you save. Rather than spending hours or even days searching for the relevant documents, information, or contact details to get certain projects up and on the go, you can get the ball rolling faster, as you will know exactly where to find what you need. You can also avoid all sorts of fees and fines for things like late payments to lenders and stockists. It also helps to maintain good working relations with business partners, clients, and third parties. There are a few different ways to get organised with your business. But some of the most effective are new innovations offered to us by developments in technology and communications. Consider making use of things like an online scheduler, virtual document management, and cloud storage and sharing.
Be Social
Social media is one of the most valuable business tools at the moment. Customers are spending increasing amounts of time online, so it’s a brilliant place to raise brand awareness, make sales, and build profit. So, if your business doesn’t have social media pages yet, it’s time to start creating some. The three most beneficial platforms of the moment tend to be Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. A well set up Facebook page can contain information such as your store’s opening hours, office locations, and contact details. There’s also a messenger feature which allows potential customers to contact you directly with queries. Twitter is also great for forming bonds with customers through direct communication. The difference here is that things are generally kept short and sweet with the imposed character limit. Instagram is a more visual platform, allowing you to showcase your products or services to a wider public. The main thing to bear in mind with social media is that you need to remain professional and controlled at all times, so as to avoid scandal or tarnishing your business’ reputation.
Expand Your Team
Many companies avoid taking on new team members until the new year. But why? December tends to be one of the busiest periods for businesses, so you might as well start recruiting now. This way, your staff will be fully trained up in time for the festive period, and you’ll have more people on board to manage larger and more frequent orders.
These are just a few ways that you can improve your business now rather than putting things off. So be proactive and start making changes today!
