VIABLE BUSINESS INITIATIVES FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF THE YEAR
Getting started for business at the beginning of the year can be daunting. Presently, most entrepreneurs are confused about business initiatives to imbibe in their plans for the year. Most people set their business plans very early in the year or towards the end of the previous year. Others take time to think deeply before setting goals and objectives. Whatever suits your palette is okay, but ensure you set achievable and time-bound objectives that align with your goals as they serve as guides in the new year.
Goals are general statements of a company’s desired achievement for a specified time interval which may be long, medium or short in duration. Time intervals act as a guide to planning, an important measure of success and have certain characteristics that may affect your set goals and objectives.
A popular method of exploiting time intervals in planning and implementing your goals is the use of quarterly milestones, where the year is divided into four quarters of three-month duration each.
Usually, the first quarter is slow and you are looking to firm up previous business, build new relationships, prospect and set yourself up for a busier second quarter. This varies based on industry as some industries might enjoy higher activity earlier in the year. Here are a few first-quarter initiatives to help you position for growth in the remaining quarters of the year.
Diversify your business layout: A good start would be to modify your business layout, adapting it to current trends to take advantage of new business opportunities. Essentially, diversification of business ideas remains a great strategy for growth in the year. This diversification could be in the form of changes in customer service delivery, product innovation and capacity building through equipment procurement or personnel recruitment.
Explore new technologies: the world is going global, most businesses have leveraged technology as a unique opportunity to expand their businesses. Digitalization is one aspect of technology with varied opportunities that entrepreneurs can leverage for business expansion. It can give you a competitive advantage by doing business better, faster and cheaper than your competitors. With the shift by a large number of organisations to cloud management systems scaling up your capacity has never been easier. Cloud services are easily accessible, facilitate collaboration and make work faster. So if you are an entrepreneur and looking for better ways to do business, these technologies present quick routes for business growth.
Analyze your processes and seek out new technology to give you an edge over your competition right off the blocks.
Expand your networks: Since the year is still young, you can seize the opportunity of networking with other business firms within your circle. Business owners today use networking to form relationships with others in like or related fields that help to expand their business ability to find new customers, improve partnership and grow their businesses. The more people you meet, the better opportunity you have to improve your business and make it popular in the business world. The first quarter is a great time to network. Set up collaborations on projects, get noticed just as potential clients are seeking solutions to their needs and position yourself for future opportunities in the coming months.
Invent better client management schemes: Clients remain a principal focal point in business. In the first quarter of the year, devise better means of relating with customers and getting feedback. Schedule first quarter meetings to discuss or present plans for your first quarter engagement with the client, touch base on new opportunities, or analyse the previous year’s performance and make recommendations for the new quarter. These meetings are a great way to provide value for your clients while sniffing out and converting new opportunities.
Increase capacity through employee learning schemes: with reduced activity for most of the first quarter, it’s a good time to introduce learning sessions in your organisation. You may bring in external facilitators to build capacity in certain areas, or nominate employees to teach other members of staff to foster internal relationships and improve listening and presentation skills amongst employees. Thus, a regular presentation amongst staff better positions employees for future presentations with clients.
Planning your business early and apportioning quarterly measurable objectives help entrepreneurs adequately manage their businesses. If you need help setting up and implementing your business initiatives for the year, click here for professional support.