The Christmasdecorations are firmly down, and we are full of good intentions to eathealthier and to finally justify the gym membership we pay for each month. Ifyou’re a small business owner what are your business aspirations for 2018? Making small changes to your business approach can deliver instrumental resultsand deliver your most productive trading year yet. As a small businessowner, January delivers the ideal time to reflect on areas of accomplishment orareas which need improvement for the year ahead.
Here are a few tips we wouldrecommend to get ahead of the competition. Review your web presenceIt’s a new year, isit time to review your existing website? If you are in a particular industry orsector, are there new products that have been launched into the industriesmarketplace, meaning your website is now out of date? Think about the visual aspect of yourwebsite, are you making full use of page layout, colours and images? What do yourexisting clients or customers think of it? It is always good to get feedbackfrom them. Do you offer an online store? Nowadays many customers like to shopfrom the comfort of their own environment, and expect to pay for goods quicklyand having an online payment gateway is imperative. How easy is it forcustomers to pay for goods, what can you improve on to improve the user experience? Whilst it’s good to do as much as possibleit’s always good to work with a reputable web developer who can enhance yourexisting layout. How well do you know your staff and clients? We can’t stressthis enough. For any business, profit margins are integral, but growth is muchmore than just £££. It’s about developing relationships and evolving as abusiness. Asking questions and understanding your clients can enhance yourworking relationships and builds the rapport you have.
Holding monthly meetingswith your staff, whether this is in a team meeting or individually on a one toone basis, delivers the opportunity to outline any issues or concerns, not justfrom the viewpoint of a manager but also the employee. Any issues or concernscan be raised and outlined and appropriate actions can be taken. It means staffoften feel more valued, and are more comfortable about approaching subjectsshould an issue arise, and it may lead to better productivity. Introducing asimple measure such as this, reflects well on you the business owner and willdemonstrate the support you are delivering to your employees providing to yourstaff. Those agreements can only be to the benefit of the staff and management. Also touch base with existing clients to build rapport and learn more about newopportunities which can enhance existing relationships. Delegate jobsThere are sometimesnot enough hours in the day when you are running a small business. Time is abusiness owner’s most valuable commodity.
There are many things you couldoutsource including: social media, legal aspects, accounting, web design, copywriting, and marketing. Focus on what you’re good at, and channel your energy into whatyou excel at….
.. running your small business and don’t get lost trying tojuggle all aspects of the business. Delegate to individuals you trust who willin turn react positively to the added responsibility, and as a result you willhave more time to focus on more pressing issues. Review the outgoingsJanuary is alreadya popular time for people to review and think about their outgoings.
If you arelooking to be more business savvy, looking at your existing outgoings couldultimately save your company money going forward. Look at your existing subcontractorsand review their performances over the past 12 months and analyse room forimprovements. What are you spending on a week to week basis and how can this beimproved? Time to review your merchant rates? Even reviewingsomething as simple as your merchant rates on your card processing account, cansave you money. Switching merchant providers can save small businesses upto 40%and take money on your card machine rental. Too many small businesses arepaying too much on their MSC merchant service charges and getting a free noobligation quote will highlight exactly how much you could save in 2018. Tolearn more about saving money on your card processing or card machine rental, please contact us today.
What tips would you share to Spring clean yourbusiness and streamline outgoings? Please get in touch or comment below.
