New Year for an Entrepreneur
It’s a new time, similar to a new beginning. People will be jotting down their resolution for the New Year and celebrating it with fireworks and warm embraces. At an individual level, you are planning many new things for yourself – a diet for losing weight, a more committed attitude towards studies and so on. But how should you celebrate this time of the year, when you are parenting a business?
Being an entrepreneur is not an easy task. When someone asks you about the inception of your business, you mention all the hardships you have been through and the struggle you underwent to lay the foundations for the business. Therefore, for something that took so much of your time and effort, you will contribute a generous amount of your attention to it at the most important time of the year.
An Entrepreneur’s New Year Resolution
With everything else being shiny and glittery at the end of the year, your business deserves a little bit of confetti spraying, decoration lights and fireworks in the background. Here is some advice to flip the calendar to a new year with a bang.
Step Away from Building the Team
Entrepreneurs choose to always be busy with management. They will hire and fire and carry out meetings and the like, however, they will pay almost negligible attention to the profitability of their business. Once you are done building your team, spend time managing it, but also give a share of your attention for boosting sales. For instance, if you are running a small restaurant, interact with your customers and take feedback (management). Look for areas where you can change your menu and attract more customers (boosting sales).
The Customer is Always Right
You are taking their feedback and showing them that you care because they can be the fuel to your moving business or the anchors bringing it down to a halt. You do not want to upset them. At new years, train your team to develop exceptional soft skills. Have you ever met customers who religiously only buy their products from a particular shop? This is because the attendants at the store make them feel important. They put forward a warm and welcoming attitude and make the customer feel like they own the store. Do not let weak soft skills come in the way of your reputation.
A New Look
Give your products or services a makeover. Even try to introduce something new. Launch some new service or a product and put it out on a promotional sale. After Christmas and New Year’s Eve, several people will have fat bills coming in. If your new product or service is heavy for their pockets, they will defer the investment. Hence, keep the prices low and make the package attractive.
A Push for the Employees
You need to do something for those who work for your business, those who believe in you and your vision, and those who help materialize your dreams. Start your New Year with a fun, short and thankful motivational speech for your workforce. Be a leader who is a role model and not someone employees keep a distance from. Convey positive messages to them indicating their importance and value to your organization. Raise a toast to them and give them a reason to work along your side for another year.
Researching for Trends
Every business undergoes changes throughout the year; several of them engage in setting trends that are relevant to your work. However, New Year is the time people and organizations take a quick stride and massive changes surface. Are you aware of these upcoming trends and changes? Do you know what is in and what is out? Researching will help you find out the dos and the don’ts of the year ahead.
Standing Out
Go with the flow. You will be looking out for the trends, but you cannot just be like the others. The trick is to customize the trend. Twist and turn it and make it fit in well with your ideology. Your products and services will be serving a purpose, but with an edge. Make the New Year a time for your business to stand out.
Take out Time for Yourself
Before you go around setting new trends and motivating your employees, look in the mirror. Do you see a worn out face? Is that a face that has worked a bit too hard throughout the year? If yes, then take out some time for yourself first. Try to figure out what you need the most. Is it a few days off from work? Is it a vacation? Right before New Year, if you spend time prepping up your business and not yourself, then the bang will not be audible. During the week after Christmas, take some time off and mentally relax yourself. When you are ready and pumped up, your business will be a reflection of your good position. It is likely to do well, if you are doing well.