It's time to do a quick review
With the first six months of 2013 just ended, it's an opportune time to pause and take a moment to step back from the day-to-day running of your business and regroup, refocus, and realign with your greater vision and goals.
However when it comes to looking into the planning and development side of your business, it can be hard to know where to start, particularly when you have limited time and you probably spend most of that time fire-fighting or doing payroll !! .
So here are some thought provoking questions to ensure you start off the next 6 months more profitably and productively:
What has worked?
When you look back over the last six months, look at what has worked well. From sales and marketing strategies to systems
and procedures- what has generated the most results or made the most difference in your business?
These are strategies and tasks you want to give priority to. You might even want to plan to invest more time, money and resources in
these areas to grow them further and generate more return in the next half of this year. This is called the 80/20 rule-but more about that later
What hasn't worked?
When you look back over the last six months, detail exactly what hasn't worked. This is an important opportunity to learn from mistakes and
as they say "hindsight is a great thing" .There's no problem with making mistakes as long as you learn from them-it's called experience.!
What sales and marketing strategies haven't worked? What products or services aren't selling? What business relationships aren't working
or profitable? What valuable lessons have you learnt from the challenges you've had over the last six months?
What could be done even better?
But be careful-before you rid your business of everything that didn't work, it is important to ask "why" it didn't. Are there still opportunities to be
had if done right ,better or differently?
When you look at what worked, are there opportunities to make it even better, faster, bigger or more effective? Always be looking for areas to
improve.
What is your market telling you?
This is perhaps the most important question. Over the last six months, what has your market been telling you?
What products and services are the most popular? Who is buying from you? Why are they buying from you? Why do they need and want
your products or services? Why are they coming to you and not someone else? Are they responding to some marketing messages better than others?
What feedback have you received? If you've had complaints, have they been addressed satisfactorily in your business and with your customer(s)?
Have you more new customers now than this time last year? Have you had more repeat customers than this time last year? Has your average customer transaction price increased from this time last year? Why?
Confronting these areas and answering these questions will give you greater clarity, focus and discipline on :
^^ what you need and want to achieve in the coming months,
^^ where you need to focus your efforts ,
^^ how you can be more strategic and targeted with your marketing and above all your time
^^ how you can continually measure your success so that it empowers you to greater things
^^ how you can adapt to changes in the market and business environment generally as the next 6 months evolve .
So - Adapt and Change if you must but Never give up - REVIEW NOW - You might even find time for that game of golf like Jim!!
With the first six months of 2013 just ended, it's an opportune time to pause and take a moment to step back from the day-to-day running of your business and regroup, refocus, and realign with your greater vision and goals.
However when it comes to looking into the planning and development side of your business, it can be hard to know where to start, particularly when you have limited time and you probably spend most of that time fire-fighting or doing payroll !! .
So here are some thought provoking questions to ensure you start off the next 6 months more profitably and productively:
What has worked?
When you look back over the last six months, look at what has worked well. From sales and marketing strategies to systems
and procedures- what has generated the most results or made the most difference in your business?
These are strategies and tasks you want to give priority to. You might even want to plan to invest more time, money and resources in
these areas to grow them further and generate more return in the next half of this year. This is called the 80/20 rule-but more about that later
What hasn't worked?
When you look back over the last six months, detail exactly what hasn't worked. This is an important opportunity to learn from mistakes and
as they say "hindsight is a great thing" .There's no problem with making mistakes as long as you learn from them-it's called experience.!
What sales and marketing strategies haven't worked? What products or services aren't selling? What business relationships aren't working
or profitable? What valuable lessons have you learnt from the challenges you've had over the last six months?
What could be done even better?
But be careful-before you rid your business of everything that didn't work, it is important to ask "why" it didn't. Are there still opportunities to be
had if done right ,better or differently?
When you look at what worked, are there opportunities to make it even better, faster, bigger or more effective? Always be looking for areas to
improve.
What is your market telling you?
This is perhaps the most important question. Over the last six months, what has your market been telling you?
What products and services are the most popular? Who is buying from you? Why are they buying from you? Why do they need and want
your products or services? Why are they coming to you and not someone else? Are they responding to some marketing messages better than others?
What feedback have you received? If you've had complaints, have they been addressed satisfactorily in your business and with your customer(s)?
Have you more new customers now than this time last year? Have you had more repeat customers than this time last year? Has your average customer transaction price increased from this time last year? Why?
Confronting these areas and answering these questions will give you greater clarity, focus and discipline on :
^^ what you need and want to achieve in the coming months,
^^ where you need to focus your efforts ,
^^ how you can be more strategic and targeted with your marketing and above all your time
^^ how you can continually measure your success so that it empowers you to greater things
^^ how you can adapt to changes in the market and business environment generally as the next 6 months evolve .
So - Adapt and Change if you must but Never give up - REVIEW NOW - You might even find time for that game of golf like Jim!!
Author - Frank Laide is founder and MD of Financial Outsourcing Solutions - a company which specialises in helping small businesses to CREATE VALUE by solving problem areas ,making them very cost efficient, streamlined and ultimately more profitable - essentially ensuring that the business achieves what it was originally set up to do - Realise YOUR vision and goals.
He is a graduate (2009) of the UCD Smurfit School of Professional Finance with an Honours degree in Finance.
He is a graduate (2009) of the UCD Smurfit School of Professional Finance with an Honours degree in Finance.
