By Kayla Matthews
2019 is here, and even if you haven’t made a personal resolution, you can still make a professional one. Whether your small business wants to focus internally or externally, there are plenty of resolutions to make that will help your business grow and accomplish its goals throughout the year. Here are seven small business resolutions you can work to achieve in 2019.
1. Try Automating Certain Business Processes
If 2018 was a year of rapid growth for your small business, you might look to expand into additional coverage areas. Instead of hiring new staff members, try automating some of your business processes to save you time and money. For example, use QuickBooks to manage your books. Digitize whatever you can as well. If you’re still sending out invoices, try encouraging clients to sign up to receive bills electronically to save on postage.
2. Delegate More Tasks
Managers everywhere talk about delegation, but is your small business putting it into practice? Although it can feel challenging to hand off an essential task to someone else, it’s an important choice that frees up your time for other areas. For example, if you’re the CEO of a small business, try delegating invoices to someone else in the company. Then, you have more time to network with employees and clients and build your business.
3. Secure Financing
Small businesses at every stage need cash. Whether your new business needs startup capital or your established company needs some extra cash to cover expenses during slow months, it’s essential to secure financing in the New Year.
Take time to learn what your financial options are, like a traditional bank loan, SBA loan or a line of credit. Your bank can help you secure the funds and make sure you’re in good financial shape for 2019.
4. Communicate More Effectively
Better communication is a broad goal, but you can tailor it to the needs of your specific small business. For example, maybe you want to communicate better with your clients or potential clients in 2019 by responding to their comments on your post. Or, perhaps your goal is to communicate more effectively with your employees. Whatever the case, make a strong communication plan and follow through with it all year.
5. Focus on Professional Development
Running a small business is hard work and takes up a good chunk of your time. With such a busy schedule, it can be a struggle to find time for professional development opportunities. A great resolution for 2019 is to dedicate time to your personal and professional development. If this goal is valuable to you, try implementing it with your employees as well. You can set monthly webinars or have speakers come in to help employees learn.
6. Start a Blog
If the content on your site needs a facelift, 2019 is a great time to make it happen. Try starting a blog to put fresh content on your site daily, weekly or monthly. Engaging content on a blog can give your customers helpful information and further solidify their relationship with your brand. Identify some topics with SEO value at the beginning of the year, and make it a goal to keep the content coming from January to December.
7. Support Other Small Businesses
Chances are, you remember what it was like to build a business from the ground up. Now that you have established your small business, another resolution for 2019 could be to pay it forward to others in your shoes. Shop at other small businesses when you can and talk to fellow business owners in your community about working on a joint marketing campaign. Pooling funds will help other businesses, plus it will get your name out in the community in a new way.
Make 2019 Your Best Year Yet
Take time out of your schedule during January to sit down and outline some goals for your small business. Do you want to communicate with employees more? Delegate more tasks? Partner with other small businesses? Whatever your goals are, following through with them could make 2019 your best year.
About the Author: Kayla Matthews writes about communication and workplace productivity on her blog, Productivity Theory. Her work has also appeared on Talent Culture, MakeUseOf, The Muse and Fast Company.
Featured image: Photo by Martin Adams on Unsplash