7 New Year’s Resolutions for your Business Progress & Development

The New Year 2023 is just around the corner. Whatever you’re planning personally for New Year’s resolutions, there are some things that you should also resolve to do for your business in 2023.

There are probably many things you have meant to do with your business for months or even years. And I know how it goes. You get so busy running your company that you lose sight of what you need to do to develop it. So, unless your company hits its busiest period in January (some do), it’s the best time to get started on those things you’ve been meaning to implement in your business. Making resolutions and letting people know about them is one of the best ways to keep yourself accountable and follow through.

What Can You Bring to 2023 Business Development? 

Yes, I said that right. It’s not what your business can bring to you but what you can bring to your business. If you are fortunate enough to have a reasonably healthy business ticking along nicely, it’s time to give something back. Conversely, if your company is struggling to thrive, it’s time to make changes and pour extra effort into your business development plan. Either way, in this new year’s resolutions, it’s time to give a little TLC and boost your business progress. 

Once you have made your resolutions and started implementing changes, you can ask what your business will give you.

Setting Resolutions – Be SMART about it!

If you’re struggling to think of things your business might need to thrive and develop, we have a few that could help you. A crucial thing to remember is to make your resolutions SMART. No, I don’t think you are likely to make stupid resolutions, but it can be tempting to be unrealistic and overly ambitious. While ambition is not a bad thing, it can be demoralising when you set the bar so high that you set yourself up to fail. 

SMART = Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound 

Specific – 

Don’t be vague about what you want to achieve. If you want to increase your revenue, say so and define by how much. Maybe you need to increase your profits by a specific amount to fund an expansion. Do you need to attract new customers, or is your problem retaining the old ones? Define a target. Have a specific goal in mind. 

Measurable – 

Can you measure your success? If your goal isn’t measurable, how can you determine whether you have achieved it? Using similar examples as above, can you define success against a starting point? If you need more new clients, can you track the number of new clients against an existing benchmark? For example, can you compare the number of new clients in February 2022 against the number of new clients in February 2023?

Achievable – 

Remember what I said about being overly ambitious and unrealistic? This is where you might need to rein in your ambitious tendencies. The best way to think about whether your resolution is achievable is to ask yourself how you will do it. If you can’t see any specific and measurable path that will see you double your revenue/client base/turnover within 12 months, the chances are that you are being overly ambitious. 

Relevant – 

Relevance can be tricky. While a goal you want to achieve could fit all of the other criteria for a SMART resolution, it may fail to be relevant to the business at this point. It may be that the goal you want to achieve is a counterpoint to the other resolutions you have set. For example, suppose your goal is to reduce unnecessary outgoings to fund a business expansion or staff member increase. You might want to hold off on redecorating the reception area or staff break room. 

Time-Bound – 

This one is easy. If you have a New Year’s Resolution, you want to achieve (or at least work towards) your goals within the framework of the next 12 months. Just remember, if you can honestly say you started your resolutions and made significant progress towards your goals within the 12-month timeframe, you HAVE fulfilled your new year’s resolution for your business. That is, as long as you keep working towards it in the following year.

New Year’s (Business) Resolutions for 2023

Here are some ideas for New Year’s Resolutions for your business that could help you secure more business, increase revenues, and attract more clients:

Get Up-to-date: 

Stay informed about industry trends and developments, and consider adopting new technologies or strategies to help your business stay competitive. Use this slow time to introduce new services or products to trial them with your existing clientele and see if they attract more people. Staying on top of your industry is crucial, but sometimes you might let it slide throughout the year.

Get your knowledge up-to-date and offer on point services.

Grow Your Network: 

Connect with other business owners, industry experts, and potential partners or customers to grow your network and learn from others. Even if you are an expert in your field, you can always learn something new in business. The business landscape can change so quickly, you need to keep your finger on the pulse to keep up. The more people you know in the business, the more people can share that information with you.

Increase Workflow Efficiency: 

Look for ways to streamline your processes and reduce waste, such as by automating tasks or adopting new technologies. If you are still making appointments manually or trying to get your head around your weekly accounting, there are tools that can take that burden off your shoulders.

Make Customer Satisfaction a Priority: 

Request feedback regularly, ask for suggestions, address complaints quickly, and go the extra mile to exceed customer expectations. Moreover, make acting on feedback and suggestions a priority. While you might not have had a complaint from these people, they have noticed a gap in your service, and told you how to fix it. Don’t waste this opportunity and plug the gap before it does result in a complaint.

Connect With Clients

No one says you have to be advertising every time you contact your clients. In fact you can probably gain more trust and connection with them if you don’t. Talk to them about your business, what you have done with it, what your plans for the future are, and even ask for their input. Open a path of discourse. You will learn so much about your most loyal clients, and how to attract more like them.

Your best option for this is via social media, which has a much easier and more immediate channel of comments and communication. You could even make it a competition with a “prize” at the end.

Develop Your Team: 

Invest in the development of your team by providing training, support, and growth opportunities. The morale of your team is at risk if you fail to develop and nurture them. Remember that any and all of your resolutions will need the cooperation of your staff to make them happen. You know that it costs more to hire a new team member than to keep the experienced ones you have, staff retention is critical.

Diversify Your Revenue Streams: 

Do you have regularly requested services or products that you don’t offer (yes, I know it takes time to train and market new services)? Consider expanding your product or services or finding new ways to monetise your business. This can help to reduce your dependence on any one source of revenue, which could ensure your business survives an economic downturn or global event.

---

Final thoughts

Remember, it’s crucial to be realistic when setting New Year’s resolutions. Pick a few achievable but still challenging goals, and be patient as you work towards them.

Yes, I said “be patient”. For business owners that can be difficult. When you set your mind to something, you almost expect immediate results (I know I do). However, you can’t expect immediate results if you also expect them to last.

Have we missed anything crucial? What are your business resolutions for 2023? Please let us know in the comments.