Build foundations for your business in 2022
Studies show that New Years Resolutions begin to crumble by the 2nd weekend in January. In 2022 that would mean that all your good intentions start to go down the drain on the 15th of January. Many of us think that 2022 is a fresh start, a brand-new year where we will not fall back into bad habits. But really, that New Year spirit lasts a little longer than the New Year spirits we drank a few days ago. If we only have 15 days, where can we start and what can we focus on to drive our business forwards and to build important foundations for success?
There are a few areas of the business that are good to audit. From that audit, action plans and decisions can be made. If you spend the next 15 days fulfilling your New Years Resolutions to save money, make more money, spend more time with your family and grow your business, you will have taken advantage of the New Year Spirit. Seize the momentum and use it to your advantage before the dreaded 2nd weekend of January.
Business Audits can be rewarding
Taking time to review your business goals can help you to achieve them. We all struggle at times to see the wood for the trees. When there are customer complaints, invoices to pay, sales to convert, upgrades to complete and technical issues to resolve we can sometimes feel like we are being very busy but getting nowhere fast.
Before these distractions start to cloud your mind in 2022, take time, take stock, take a breath.
If you can take a review of your business, your finances, your people, your systems, your regulations, and compliance issues, you will be ready for the year ahead.
Take Time
How many days do you rush into the office, on your mobile phone, say a quick “Hello” to your team and then sit behind your desk to work through the mountain of paperwork that needs completing? Spending time with each member of your team will be appreciated. Taking time to walk around the office and see people, see desks, wires, identify problems that need fixing and areas that can be improved will be time well spent. Take time to talk, to watch, to review your office environment. Take time to just review your office.
Take Stock
It might be as simple as ordering 100 pens and 2 boxes of paper, or it might be a full audit of your stock room, and storage facility. If you know what you have got, what you have not got and what you need, you are more prepared. Your employees like to feel that they have all the tools they need to do a good job. It is time consuming and a bit embarrassing to have staff complaining of a lack of resources. Organising your stock room, toilet paper, PPE clothing, ink cartridges, pens and paper will show that your staff are being looked after and they will thank you for the extra effort. It will save time in the long run and probably reduce your costs too.
Take Time to Review
2021 is gone. It was a hard year for a lot of businesses. With economic turmoil, Covid restrictions, lockdown protocols, and all the uncertainty caused by a combination of Brexit and other political issues, it is easy to see why a lot of businesses struggled. 2021 is in the past, we are all a little more prepared for home working, new protocols and have got used to Brexit. Review what you did well, what you could have done better and what you want to do more of in 2022 and you will be steps above your competition. Review with your teams, review your business goals, review successes and failures from 2021 so you can learn from the bad, and enhance and add to the good. There will have been some failures, especially around Home Working and organizational management. These might not have been huge failures, but if you could do just one thing better, you will already be on a better path in 2022.
Take on your Finances
Hidden Direct Debits costs companies thousands of pounds every year. Taking time to go through your bank statement with a fine-toothed comb can save you a lot of money. Are you paying for insurance that you don’t need? Do you have any Direct debits going out for products or services that you have stopped using? Warrantees could be costing you money each month.
A lot of companies pay for Marketing subscriptions and Social Media packages that they do not take full advantage of. Choosing to keep the payments and make the most of the investment, or to cancel the direct debit, will either way, save you money or make you money. You could be tied into different contracts, these could be phone contracts, internet, or service providers, review them all and ask your self if they are really necessary.
Take on your People
This is a hard one. Do you have people who excelled in 2021? Maybe some staff are more adapted to working from home than others? There could be some staff who struggled to work from home, or even reduced their output because they do not have a manager closely monitoring them. Business owners do not enjoy dismissing people but taking a review of who is working for you, what they are good at and what they struggle with, might mean that you move people into positions that get the best out of them. Sitting down and talking to your staff shows that you care and is a very supportive tool (if done right!). Companies do not want to employ people who are an expense and who drag others down. You do want to promote and support people who are giving you their best, and they also deserve your time and recognition.
Take on your Systems
Is your phone system suitable for all your home working and changing of work locations? Does your intranet support your team and offer training, guidance, HR Support, and regular updates? Are you tied into any contracts for technical support, phone lines, internet, cleaning, or other office supplies that could be reduced or amended? Now is a great time to review your working systems. They might be all working fine, but if you can get a little more from somewhere, that will add up through the year.
Regulations and Compliance
There will be new regulations coming into force in 2022 that will affect a lot of businesses. Is there a Brexit regulation that will affect you? If so, are you aware and have learned as much as you can about it? Are you up to date with your tax payments? A lot of businesses took advantage of the HMRC payment plans in 2021. This could mean that you are in arrears with HMRC and need to set up and monitor a better payment plan to get your company out of debt. If your company took advantage of the CBILS loans, the Bounce-back loans or other such government subsidies repayments need to be made in 2022, and you should be aware of the compliance and rules around these.
Take time now to achieve your New Years Resolutions in one go
If we only have 15 days of motivation and New Year enthusiasm, how can you use it to get the maximum advantage from it? Taking time to have a good Business Audit will help to build foundations that will see your business grow and succeed in 2022. If you need help with your business audit planning, there are several companies and people who can help. I will be completing my New Year audit soon, and I am always happy to have a chat.
This article comes courtesy of Mark Trowbridge at ConXhub.
ConXhub offers the simplest & most convenient connectivity of all time. No equipment, no cables, no engineers and definitely no troubleshooting VoIP connectivity issues! You just need an active smartphone and you can communicate from wherever you desire, even on the move.