NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS

At this time of the year, we all have some resolutions to make. Whether on a personal or business level, it is always important to review what went well last year, what went wrong and needs to be fixed and what are the major decisions to be taken in this regard. Below is a list of recommended perception changes to make your business life easier:

• Shift personal blame to personal development: stop blaming it on the government, on clients, on suppliers, on the team…The blame game is endless. Start working on your personal development. It is a very interesting and endless journey. Read, ask, research, exercise, try, learn, take workshops, and amaze yourself with how much you can expand.
• Shift to “real training” instead of “entertaining”. Many companies and people love entertaining workshops where they can have fun, do team bonding and escape from daily routine. However, this is really not the point; it is essential to find trainers who really give you practical workshops, learn new techniques and benefit from their proven experience with other companies.
• Turn business problems into business plans; all companies have problems. But it is your ability to turn these problems into opportunities, to learn how to solve them, and how to avoid falling into the same pitfalls again that differentiates you from the competition. Anticipate problems, make action plans to overcome them and always be proactive to find new creative solutions.
• Move from customer neglect to customer care: who pays your salary? Yes, customers…It is amazing how people fight to get new customers and then start complaining that they are demanding. Customer care is the main tool to keep your existing clients and they will use word of mouth to get you new referrals.
• Avoid sales fluctuations and look for sales abundance: fluctuations in income are the result of inconsistent sales efforts. It is that simple. You must have a solid and consistent strategy to generate new leads, make a regular flow of appointments, submit proposals on time and follow up thoroughly. Momentum, not luck, is what creates abundance!
• Management clashes? No: management accuracy! Reporting, reporting, reporting. You need to have data entry for each part of the workflow, analyze that data, and create standard reports and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to be able to make accurate decisions. Grey zones attract clashes; accurate data gives you transparency and power.
• Avoid business closure and go towards business expansion. Closing a business is really a pity. Sometimes it could be a solution but most of the times it could be avoided. After all there’s always a solution. But you need to keep adapting to the changes, market fluctuations, new technologies, tough competitors, and new market trends. A business is born to grow not to close. If you can’t expand by yourself, find a business strategist who can put your business on the right track.
• Shift from cash flow problems to cash flow abundance. Not an easy task for sure. But guess what, cash flow problems are the symptoms, not the real issue. Is the real problem fluctuating sales revenues, or increasing costs, or a low productive team, or a heavy workflow or even maybe you are serving the wrong target market? Keep analyzing where the real problem is. Sometimes it’s in the mode of payment, the weak agreements or the loose management skills. 

Expanding your business is not a piece of cake but it’s not that hard as well. Maybe the best resolution of the year would be to hire a business strategist who could help you take your business to another level. Ask about their background, their experience, and their proven records. Maybe this strategist could be your key decision to make a wonderful 2019.

Keep expanding, 

Jade W. Dagher
Certified Management Consultant, CMC ®