2021 is right around the corner! A new year means a fresh start and a new look at your business goals and metrics.
This year has caused changes in the business world and even left holes that can be filled by entrepreneurial innovators - like you. With that in mind, now is a great time to prepare for a productive 2021.
Your Five Action Items
The beginning of 2021 is going to look quite different from the beginning of 2020. You not only need to take a look back at the many changes you made in 2020, but you also need to re-examine the basic actions that you have taken this year to stay in business. Additionally, you need to reinforce anything that has improved your company’s resilience in the face of the many changes this year has thrown at it.
We have tailored the below five action items to these current, changing times. Each action is fundamental and may be something you have been doing all year long. It is time to reinforce and revisit vital strategies that have carried your company this far.
Action Item #1. Talk with clients about their needs - as well as their goals for 2021
Create a customer survey or have conversations with your customers. Look at what they are posting on social media. Do whatever you can to find out what customers need to make 2021 a better year.
Right now, many people across the world are expressing a need for positive messaging. We have talked with customers and friends and found that most would like more joy, more unity, and more consensus in the new year.
While this is something we have gleaned and worked hard to lean into throughout 2020 and will continue to focus on through 2021, it may not be the overriding need of your particular demographic. So, get an in-depth look at your customer’s goals and find ways to help them reach those goals in the new year.
Action Item #2. Consider how you can pivot to meet those needs
At this point, you and most other business owners may hate hearing the word “pivot.” It seems to have been the anthem of 2020.
However, even though 2021 is a new year, we may face even more challenges as business owners in that new year than we did in 2020.
The fortunate thing is, you have already established that you can overcome difficulties. This means that you can defeat any new challenges you are currently facing.
One method of overcoming challenges is to proactively update your business offerings to fit with the customer needs expressed in step one above. This is the best way to “pivot.” Implementing changes because you have decided to make them based on information rather than reacting to the latest problem.
Action Item #3. Set your goals for the new year
Let’s face it; every year is unpredictable. But every year, we still set new goals and create new expectations for our companies. 2021 is no different! So, set your new years goals with impunity, even if 2020 has been an “off” year.
Action Item #4. Re-look at your company processes and procedures
Things likely look different within your business this year. So, start the new year right by documenting the new processes and procedures that are in place within your company.
Providing firm documentation on how to do something within your company and setting those expectations help create stability even as other things change. It’s stabilizing for both your staff and customers to ensure that the actions taken fit with your brand, customer expectations, and company culture.
Action Item #5. Create a stable organizational base from which you can launch new ideas and create company growth
You made changes in 2020, and you will likely make more in 2021. This would have been the case, even if 2020 was a completely normal year. A business that is changing is growing and developing - which is a great thing.
You and your company executives are currently working from a place of experience. You have all weathered the storm together, and you know the importance of creating stability within your company.
Take a look at your company from the perspective of building a firmer foundation from which you can grow. Here are a few things you can do to reinforce your company’s foundation:
- Create more or better processes and procedures, as gone over above.
- Update company policies to reflect the current working environment.
- Have all of your employees to create knowledge transfer documents to ensure no functionality is lost within your company as your business grows.
- Work with your executives to build a playbook for facing specific challenges that may come up in the future. This could include issues like a pandemic, social unrest, climate change, etc. A great way to get ideas for challenges for which you may be at risk is to look at your business interruption insurance and see what your insurer does not cover. In this way, you can take advantage of work already done by insurance risk analysts and prepare for anything that may interrupt your company’s operations.
- Establish clear and decisive infrastructure as a framework from which your business can grow - and as a ladder up which employees can climb.
Are you planning to grow your business in 2021? Get in touch with the team at Business Success Consulting Group. We are here to help you reach your goals!
