New Year’s Resolutions For Businesses?

Happy New Year!

So here we are, another year older and presumably another year wiser.  Undoubtedly, you’ve made a list of resolutions that might look suspiciously like last year’s – get in shape, save more money, make more money, etc… and, well, I have to ask you – why?

You didn’t do them last year.

Or the year before.

The resolutions haven’t changed and – no surprise – the results haven’t either.

Why is that?

Well, I could start with the accusation that you didn’t have the discipline to carry them out, or the time, or “life” – whatever that is – got in the way.

All excuses.

The truth is, you weren’t able to accomplish your goals (or, if you like, your resolutions) because you did what you always had done and thus, you got what you always gotten.  The definition of insanity and, sadly, many lives in business today.

How about, instead of resolving to do this or that, you resolve to establish a system and then a plan that allows you to achieve the goals you set?

Instead of flatly stating you’ll “lose weight” you instead declare to the Universe that you are going to lose weight and keep it off by cutting out sugars and processed foods from your diet except on Saturdays?

You’d lose weight and still have the chance to splurge a bit and eat the occasional Cheeto, but your overall health would increase and your weight would decrease.  People suffering from obesity didn’t get there overnight and thinking that 30 days of dieting will reverse decades of bad habits is, after all, foolish.

Your business is no different.  If your entire company is a shambles and squeaks out only a tiny bit of profit each month, expecting to 10X that business in a quarter is foolish.  On the other hand, picking a single strategy to work on, perfect, revise, and implement each week, or month, or quarter, is the way to move the needle in your business, just like in your life.

Where to begin?  If you know where your company really needs it, then, obviously, start in that place.  If you don’t, then ask yourself, “where am I struggling – getting clients, delivering to clients, or managing the systems to do both?” and then, with that answer, begin solving the problems you identify.

Pro tip?  Once you’ve solved one, you’ll find another – that’s the nature of improvement.  If you build and refine systems to speed your company’s ability to contract and onboard new clients, you’ll inevitably expose faults in client fulfillment.  The added volume of sales as a result of this will grow the business – one of those pesky resolutions we see each year – while the efficiency of the business will be growing, too.

Move forward – every day.  AT the same time, understanding where in your own business you might have profit leaks can be hard to see from inside the boat, so I invite you – before tax season really gets rolling – to come in, sit down, and let’s look at your company’s state of affairs and where the holes might be – and how to plug them.

Understand and create systems to do that and the resolutions and the processes they need will fall into place.

Wishing you all the best in 2018-

E. Kyle Dugan, EA, CAA

P.S. As I was writing this, the tax bill is getting quite a good deal of press.  If you have concerns about what it means to you, your family, and your business, then it is critical that you schedule a time to sit down so we can discuss how it impacts every aspect of your life and what strategies make the most sense for you.

 

 

Sincerely,

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