7 new financial year resolutions for your business
The end of financial year is fast approaching, no doubt involving a last-minute scramble to complete accounts, balance budgets and prepare tax documentation.
But while June 30 can be manic, it’s also a great chance to step back and take stock of your business as a whole, look at what’s working and what isn’t and put in place plans for the new financial year.
Here a seven new financial year resolutions you can make for your business.
1. Look at what you’ve done well and consolidate
Management consultant Joel Barolsky says it’s an important part of business and sets you up to play to your strengths. “Focus on what’s working,’’ he says. Once that’s identified, you can build on it.
2. Identify the game changers
In a market of continuous change, there’s always something new. It’s important to look at what’s on the horizon in terms of threats and opportunities.
What are the big trends and how can you plan for them and adopt them in your business?
3. Focus on digital
The digital world has changed the customer interface, affecting how customers interact with the company.
“Digital is impacting every facet of business and people need to really take a good look hard at what the opportunities are but also potentially where the threats come from,” Barolsky says.
People need to look closer at the digital opportunities out there.
4. Assess hi-tech businesses in the market place
Barolsky calls it the “Uber-isation” of business, saying companies like Uber and Airbnb are changing the game with their radically different business models.
Uber has challenged the transport industry but it doesn’t have a single car. Airbnb has transformed the hospitality sector without owning a hotel. Can you apply those models to your business?
“There are more and more companies offering those kind of match-making services and bypassing your traditional sellers and that is both a threat and an opportunity,’’ Barolsky says.
Worth considering: 3 must-have tech assets for your business
5. Explore a different staffing model
Barolsky advocates the use of the accordion business model where appropriate, saying more and more companies are adopting the trend.
This is essentially an expansion and contraction of staff – which is where the accordion reference comes from – to meet business needs and any one time. He says using freelance staff on an as-needed basis allows for more flexible resourcing to meet shifting demands.
“Basically you might have a core staff of full time people but then you have a network of others that you contract in,” Barolsky says.
“There are a lot more people who want flexible work arrangements so that accordion business model enables you to attract certain kinds of very talented people who may not want to work in the usual sort of way.”
6. Evaluate why you’re in business
“Getting some clarity as to why you are in business in the first place is important,’’ Barolsky says.
He says the usual measures around cashflow and profits, staffing and customers are important but business owners need to “understand their raison d’etre, the purpose of their business”.
“Are we just going to make money on the way through? Are we going to sell some time in the future? Are we looking to grow it to a particular size or form?”
Take the time to reconnect with your business purpose.
Barolsky says business owners should take time to reconnect with their business purpose and then set operational and monetary goals for the following financial year that align to that purpose.
7. Assess your competitors and determine your edge
“I see people who are just going through the motions without really thinking through why they are doing it and what the options are that they can have,’’ he says.
Barolsky says knowing your competition is important in gaining an edge and may help inform any restructures or changes in direction.
“There might be a range of reasons why the business exists so they need to get in touch with that and be truthful about that – it’s an important issue. And I don’t know if many businesses do that.”
