The start of a new year is the perfect time to give your business the kick up the backside it needs to shift into higher gear. After all, this will allow you to tick-off all of your goals for the year as quickly as possible, whether you’re hoping to see an increase in sales or customer demands, or simply work on making a name for yourself within your industry. With that in mind, here are 4 steps that you can take to set your company up for success in 2025.
By Team Savant
Image: Kelly Sikkema
Hire An Accountant
With tax season just around the corner, getting your company’s finances in order is critical. If this is something that you tend to struggle with, consider reaching out to Chartered Accountants who can provide you with some much-needed support and assistance during this. Not only that, but they can also help you to better your financial standing by redefining your budget or introducing you to strategies that improve cash flow within your business.
Simplify Daily Operations
Despite popular misconception, business growth and expansion does not need to be a cause of stress. Nor should it mean that your workload (or your team’s workload) increases dramatically — if anything, they should find that their daily tasks become more manageable as your company expands. One way in which you can achieve this goal is by finding effective ways to streamline or automate daily operations. For example, you could use AI tools to automate responses to customer enquiries, so that your team no longer have to spend as much time combing through their emails.
Invest In Your Team
Investing in your team can also allow you to steer your business toward success in the coming months. For example, by providing your employees with access to development opportunities (both externally and in-house) will allow them to develop new skills which allow them to work to a higher standard moving forward. Not only that, but “employees are more likely to be motivated and engaged when they can learn and develop new skills.” This means that, while training may seem to turn your employee’s attention away from critical tasks, it will likely have a positive effect on productivity and efficiency rates in the long-run. It can also serve to be an excellent defense against poor employee retention, as 74% of leavers cite a lack of career progression as the key reason why they choose to leave a role.
Touch Base With Your Customers
The chances are that you conducted a great deal of research into your target market ahead of launching your business. However, whether that was six months or six years ago, it's likely that their needs, wants and expectations have shifted quite considerably during that time frame. As such, the start of the new year is the perfect time to touch base and host a series of focus groups that ensures you’re still on the same page. This way, you can make changes to your business plan or services if necessary.