Many people scoff at New Year’s resolutions. It is no mystery why — these self-directed promises to visit the gym regularly or read a book a month tend to quickly fade once the unavoidable busyness of life sets in.
But, for business owners, the phrase “New Year’s resolutions” is just a different way of saying “strategic plans.” And these are nothing to scoff at. In fact, now is the perfect time to take a critical look at your company and make some earnest promises about improving profitability in 2018.
Ask tough questions
Begin by asking some tough questions. For example: how satisfied are you with the status quo of your business? Are you happy with your profitability, or had you anticipated a much stronger bottom line at this point in your company’s existence? If you were to sell tomorrow, would you get a fair return based on what you have invested in effort and money?
If your answers to these questions leave you more dissatisfied than pleased, your New Year’s resolutions may have to be bold. This does not mean you should do something rash, but there is no harm in envisioning next year as the greatest 12 months in the history of your business and then trying to figure out how you might get there.
Rate your profitability
To assess your company’s financial status, begin by honestly gauging your current performance. Rate your profitability on a scale of 1 to 10, where adequate working capital, long-term employees, and customers, consistent growth in revenues and profit, and smooth operations equal a 10.
Many business owners will apply numbers somewhere between a 5 and a 7 to these categories. If you rate your business a 6, for example, this means your company is not tapping into 40 percent of its profit-generating capacity. Consider the level of improvement you would realize by moving up just one notch — to a 7.
Identify areas for improvement
One way to discover your company’s unrealized profit enhancement opportunities is to ask your customers and employees. They know firsthand what you are good at, as well as what needs improvement.
For instance, years ago, when the American auto industry was taking its biggest hits from foreign imports, one of the Big Three manufacturers was experiencing significant customer complaints about poor paint jobs. An upper-level executive visited the paint shop in one of its factories and asked an employee about the source of the problem. The worker replied, “I thought you’d never ask,” and proceeded to explain in detail what was wrong and how to solve it.
Get ready for change
If you have a few New Year’s resolutions in mind but are not sure how to implement these ideas or how financially feasible they might be, please contact our firm. We can work with you to identify areas of your business ready for change and help you attain a higher level of success next year.