2017 is on its way out the door, and the holiday season is in full swing. The public is planning for holidays, Christmas, New Year celebrations, and how to enjoy their vacations more with the family. However, entrepreneurs have different plans in their minds. They are planning for their business growth and expanding across their market. They are compiling the current year’s financial statements and other business data to help their company enter the New Year with a new plan, hoping to be better than the last.
Before starting a new business plan, refer to the original business plan. Look at the initial goals and compare them to what goals have been achieved. If any targets have not been reached, you need to evaluate how this impacts the business and if it can still be accomplished in the upcoming year. You will need to do this with each year’s business plan to sort out the deficiencies, the steps you have taken, and the impacts of those steps. To prepare the new business plan, you need to ask yourself questions. Is the business going as planned? Is the business running successfully in terms of goals achieved? What sort of business operations are carried out? Their results must be included in next year’s business plan.
Tips to Make a New Year Business Plan
- First of all, check the position and standing of your company. What is the current financial status of your company? How many liabilities are in your company? Is the income that you are bringing in exceeding that of the expenses? Is your business bookkeeping being appropriately monitored?
- Have a look at your environment. What is the market trend, and where is it going? Is there a period of upsurge, or is there a period of decline in businesses around you?
- Take a look at how your competitors are doing. Is their market share of products or services they offer to increase? What steps have they taken to raise their market share? Did they introduce new products to the market? Or has the packaging of their products been refreshed? Are there any promotional offers or other kinds of marketing techniques they have adopted?
- Scan through your business bookkeeping. Have unnecessary transactions been made? Are you caught up in terms of a balanced book? What areas can you improve on in this important aspect of your company?
- Is your business audit-ready? An audit-ready business is ready to capture market share. Having an audit-ready business means everything is clear in business finances and accounting. No liabilities are postponed. An audit-ready business means that all accounting statements are up to date, and, in turn, being up to date in business ensures rapid success. It makes making decisions regarding business operations financing and other tasks far easier.
- Plan out new targets and goals for your business. Also, plan to achieve those targets and goals in the coming year.
- Business planning includes the steps taken in business to promote its growth and remove the debts and liabilities if any exist. If all of the obligations or liabilities cannot be removed all at once, plan to eradicate them as soon as possible.
- Make a road map to reaching your business plan goals. Which path will be followed to grow the business? If business financing is needed, how will it be managed? What about debts, equity financing, attracting foreign investors, and personal funding in business?
- Always take into consideration that situations may change, and the environment is not always feasible. How will you survive your business as an entrepreneur?
- Make a rigorous plan for reaching markets other than the one you currently operate in. You are already selling your products and services, so why not reach more people?
- Plan methods to attract more customers for your business growth. Use your creativity to attract a larger client base.
- Always keep a budget and resources on hand in case the business plan does not work as expected. I hope for the best and plan for the worst.
Conclusion
Business planning is essential for entrepreneurs. As the year ends, they must seek out the results of the previous year’s business plans. Entrepreneurs must research the reasons behind why the previous plan was not up to the mark or why it happened to thrive. If the previous year’s plan was successful, then how can the next year’s business plan be made to achieve targets again?
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