As the mid-winter mark passes, now is a perfect time for you, as a business owner, to start warming up your business’ engine in anticipation of the burst of new energy the warmer months bring.
Why? You see, a good spring clean puts your business in good stead and, renews everyone’s enthusiasm for their work during the warmer months ahead. So, as soon as the winter is done, you will speed past your still-hibernating competition.
Fortunately, the good folks over at MYOB have put together a five-point cheat sheet for you to execute the perfect spring clean for your business.
1. Kick out the old
Review last year’s performance reports and assess how those reports were earned. You will see much clearer what is and isn’t adding value, and how to kick it to the curb.
For example, it might be time to ditch pen, paper and spread sheets and take control of your cash flow, billing and compliance costs with cloud accounting software.
2. Usher in the new
Surprisingly, few SMEs have an active business website yet, customers research and make their purchase decisions online. So if you don’t have one, think about the business return you’ll get from taking 20 minutes to create one. There are easy, affordable website builders out there these days.
If you already have one, review it. Ask yourself the following:
- Can you make it easier to find?
- Could you update it more frequently?
- How can you provide more visuals of products and services?
- Should you link it to your social media profiles?
- Can you offer an e-commerce facility?
- What ideas can you borrow from your competitors’ sites?
3. Don’t be an island: get advice and support
Explore the web and social media for like-minded business owners and, read industry forums and blogs. Local entrepreneurial communities are also still great avenues for networking with peers, suppliers and potential customers.
Keep in touch with your accountant, too. They know your business from head to toe and, can help you determine how well you are performing compared to your competitors.
4. Check-in with your progress
The new financial year has just started so, this is the best time to check your business’ progress against your plan. Ask yourself some important questions:
- How close are you to your financial goals?
- Where didn’t costs or revenue quite add up?
- Are there emerging opportunities you can grab?
5. Getting through the rest of winter
Like it or not, we still have some weeks of winter to go. Make the most of the colder weather with a few activities to brighten things up for your team and customers. Here are some ideas:
- Create anticipation: ‘Christmas in July’ parties are popular with many businesses because they give employees and business partners something to look forward to, helping to keep them focused. A mid-winter shindig is a great way to fight off the winter blues.
- Be mindful of health: There’s no getting around it: winter means flu season and that means sick days and reduced productivity. Focus on providing a healthy environment so let the sick employees work from home or take leave or have your staff get preventative flu shots.
- Give customers a reason to brave the cold: Everyone just wants to curl up on their couch with a cup of hot chocolate so fewer customers are out and about. Attract people from their homes with a warm and inviting environment as well as special winter deals or sales.
