Business Success New Year resolutions

New Year resolutions to help drive your company forward

A new year, a new you, that’s the saying advertisers pitch to us around this time of year. And whether you’re planning on like kicking that smoking habit, losing some excess weight, or taking steps to improve yourself professionally or personally, setting yourself New Year’s resolutions is a great way to instigate change and keep yourself motivated.

New Year’s resolutions don’t, however, need to be the sole reserve of individuals. For businesses looking to approach the New Year with fresh vim and vigour, setting objectives for the turn of the year is a great means of driving your company to greater levels of success.

So, what New Year’s resolutions should you be looking towards to help drive your company forward? Here at THP Chartered Accountants, we’re delighted to help you set your targets for the New Year.

Check out the following resolutions to better improve business performance.

1. Optimise cash flow

For businesses large and small – particularly small – there are always improvements that can be made when it comes to cash flow. From salary demands to reinvesting capital to help the business grow, identifying areas for cash flow improvement will enable you, as a business leader, to better manage operations knowing that cash flow issues will not arise. Seek advice from experienced accounting professionals to help optimise cash flow and you can enjoy a less stressful year.

2. Delegate more 

If, like many small business owners, you seem to be finding yourself spread too thinly and handling a number of tasks, it may be time to consider your approach to delegation. We know how easy it is to become precious about every little activity in which your company engages but employing and working alongside experienced professionals in whom you can place your trust will soon demonstrate the value that delegation delivers.

Delegating such tasks as managing office supplies or maintaining your finances and bookkeeping will soon free up valuable time during which you can concentrate on more important tasks.

3. Enhance digital presence

Depending on the nature of your business, you may or may not already have an online presence. Regardless, the digital environment changes at such a rate that there are always improvements to be made.

Look at making things simpler by automating online processes or increasing awareness of your brand through effective digital marketing. Perhaps you need to keep your website more up-to-date with relevant and fresh content or maximise the efficacy of your email mailing list. Whatever route you take, there is plenty to keep you busy when it comes to developing and enhancing your digital presence.

4. Outsource for efficiency

For a long time, outsourcing has been something of a dirty word in business. After all, the thought of farming work out to a third-party provider raises concerns about quality control, project management and cost. Times, however, have changed and today outsourcing represents one of the most cost-effective ways of accessing high quality services and products at a competitive price.

Regardless of the nature of the work you need doing, you will doubtless be able to find a provider that can meet your needs. From digital marketing to administrative tasks, full accounting services to product fulfilment, finding external providers is a great means of getting work done by highly skilled professionals without incurring the overheads associated with employing full-time staff.

5. Assess and refine

There’s a lot to be said for looking to the past when planning for the future. As part of your New Year’s resolution, set aside time to look back over your business’ past activities and determine whether they proved to result in something worthwhile. By doing so you can assess precisely what has helped create your business successes, where further investment should be channeled and which tasks are failing to add value.

Such an activity may not always be the most enjoyable and could well lead to tensions within your business. That said, the well-being of your company is for the greater good, so ceasing or streamlining those tasks that are having an inadequate impact on your business will enable you to refine your working practices and drive greater success.

6. Improve communication

One of the most common grievances among employees at any business is that the quality and level of internal communication needs improvement. Are you confident you’re providing adequate levels of engagement with those in your business? Are you utilising the latest and best tools available to communicate?

There are always ways to improve the communication within your team, so whether it’s introducing regular meetings, using inter-team tools such as Teams, Slack, Trello, or Basecamp, or even simply sending weekly emails, ensure that you’re doing all you can to liaise with your team on a constant basis. Plus, don’t forget to seek their feedback on whether and how they think further improvements can be made.

With every new year, the chance to implement change and improvement can bring with it great excitement and anticipation. By setting New Year’s resolutions such as those listed above, you can establish a roadmap towards improving performance for your organisation. And whether it’s small changes or wholesale amendments, the new year will undoubtedly present new challenges to overcome.

For more advice on optimising the practices of your business or finding means of refining the financial performance of your company, get in touch with the experienced team at THP Chartered Accountants today.