There can’t be a better time than a new year to infuse a burst of energy into your business. And to put greater resolve to key initiatives and efforts you know will make your company grow faster.
So, start the new year by making a few business resolutions. They provide you an opportunity to press the restart button and get off to a fresh start (in case the last year wasn’t so good). But making ambitious yet achievable business resolutions is an art that doesn’t come easy. Many wheels motor a business which is why resolutions that focus too closely on one aspect might not make sense. Your resolutions should come together as a whole. Also, resolutions that are too daunting will not deliver results. Many a business owner has cast aside the wish-list a few weeks into January simply because the resolutions seemed too hard to get. Remember—the best business resolutions are realistic, positive, and inspire employees to reinvent themselves as well. Fret not if you haven’t made any yet. Read on to find out more about resolutions-that-stick. 

Look Within

Cut out pipedreams: Business resolutions can be set in a jiffy but it takes countless plans and hard work to achieve these aims. Meeting monthly sales targets, for instance, involves breaking down big numbers into more realistic weekly and daily goals. So, resolve to make minute planning a habit—this will go a long way in converting your wish list into reality.
Planning more frequently is thus an essential business resolution in itself as well as a means to achieve more. Planning is about results, a method to take stock of what’s working and where to change course to achieve or adjust goals. Short-term plans help avoid expensive mistakes and ensure a business stays on track. Meeting them also keeps up motivation levels as well as the momentum.

Institute financial controls: “Financial business resolutions focus on getting a tighter grip on cash flows and better financial planning,” says Santhosh Mogili, lead consultant, OptIT, an IT infrastructure consultancy.
A better handle on cash flows would relieve business heads from worrying about meeting expenses. For this, don’t rely completely on finance staff. Make a conscious effort to comprehend financial statements and how to use these as a guide for future action. A better understanding of finance provides a sound base on which to draw up budgets. “Coming to your own conclusions gives you leeway to compare your analysis with the CFO’s or accountants,” adds Mogili.
Also, resolve to listen more closely to sales heads and base annual sales targets on real inputs instead of wishful assumptions. The more realistic the targets, the higher the chances of meeting them.

 Learn to innovate: Companies that do not embrace newness find it hard to achieve desired business results. Regular brain-storming sessions help throw up ideas for new offerings and innovative strategies to create more brand awareness among consumers. So, while pushing sales of bestseller products, consider tweaking your array of offerings or changing the way you work. Media agency Namaste Publications’ new year resolution is to outsource more non-core activities—such as the gathering of news and online delivery of content—so that it can focus on business development and expanding its delivery spectrum.
Use the new year as an excuse to adopt novel productivity ideas. Amit Karia, founder and CEO of Sears Phytochem and Shinton Chemicals, plans to introduce his production team to better time management skills to increase efficiencies. “Time management skills will help reduce the cost per unit and increase profitability.”
Innovation also implies reinventing yourself by learning new skills. Make time for this—take a good look at how you spend your time with the aim of focusing only on essential matters. Delegate wherever possible.

Use the new year as an excuse to adopt novel productivity ideas."

Get Out More

Network more: Networking provides an opportunity to learn about others’ success strategies and mistakes. A powerful tool for business growth, it also helps acquire and brainstorm new ideas. Contacts serve as references as well as open doors to new clients and win-win partnerships. Thus, they help revitalise your business.
Follow a few do’s and don’ts to get the most out of networking. Mogili suggests, “Don’t network for immediate benefits. See it as a long-term investment. Also, don’t oversell yourself. If you promise someone the moon and fail to deliver when you are asked to keep up the promise, you could loose that contact (and associated connections) forever. Make promises after consulting the delivery team. Lastly, accept responsibility to keep alive connections. I set aside a few hours every week to network.”
Networking is not only for business heads. Encourage the middle ranks to work on widening their circle of contacts. Explain that when the art of networking is practiced well, it can both act as a stepping stone for their careers, and improve business prospects.

Gain visibility: “Make more money” is a popular business resolution. This hinges on higher sales from new clients as well as from the existing customer base. “Align marketing and sales goals to achieve this aim,” advises Vipin Balakrishnan, MD, Namaste Publication.
Better marketing techniques create more visibility for a business. “Carry forward effective strategies from the last year. Add innovative new methods to strengthen your efforts,” suggests Sneha Chandrashekar, CEO, Black and White Tech Writing Solutions.
Namaste Publications, for instance, plans to use media relations, social media, award nominations, and partnerships to become more visible next year. In particular, social media can help build a following. “You can also never communicate enough with prospective clients,” adds Balakrishnan.

Chase recurring business: Work on increasing recurring revenues from repeat order clients who are invaluable to long-term financial well-being. For this, Chandrashekar proposes analysing your audience to define clear strategies to draw clients back. For instance, calculations might show that offering a 10 per cent discount and advertising on social media would increase sales by 20 per cent. Investing in strategy advertising can widen your reach and increase revenue capture.
Mogili suggests introducing metrics to track the satisfaction levels of existing customers on an ongoing basis. Then, offer sales staff incentives based on customer feedback. Use this information to also formulate plans to eliminate existing pain points and deliver more value.

Create Strategies

Business resolutions must be realistic and match the situation of an organisation in the new year. As an example, Chandrashekar points out that start-ups aged less than two years old should resolve to work on building powerful strategies to strengthen core business and meet sales targets. According to Balakrishnan, the fifth year of a business is the right time to consolidate. So, he has identified Namaste Publications’ best products to focus on, over the course of the next year, its fifth.

Business resolutions should also focus on more than just business. Karia plans to spend more time understanding his employees’ challenges. “I can’t ignore the people who help turn our aims into reality. If you profit more, sharing the wealth will help ensure future success.” It isn’t enough to simply list out business resolutions. Creating a strategy (see box) to achieve these is a crucial step.

Convert business resolutions into reality, step-by-step

Follow these steps to see your business resolutions become a reality:

1) Make plans: Making resolutions with no plans to backup the goals is mere wishful thinking. Resolutions must be translated into clear actionable steps soon after you list out your aims. Since enthusiasm surrounding the new year usually fades away after the first week or two of January, harness your motivation by formulating appropriate plans during the narrow window of opportunity.

2) Think long-term: Think of new year business resolutions as a starting point towards a healthier business. Plans must be revisited from time to time to steer action in the right direction. Also, stay flexible. Accept that your plan and sometimes, even your goal will change when unexpected situations arise. Accept as well that achieving your goal is but an incremental success that should lead to bigger and better aims.

Some Resolutions for your business

• I will be more considerate.
• I will push myself out of my comfort zone.
• I will proactively align business methods to prevailing market conditions.
• I will accept responsibility for making success strategies within the business environment I operate in.
• I will not work overtime unless it is absolutely needed.
• I will be more productive when I am in office.
• I will be more aggressive in pursuing new client leads.
• It’s easier to measure success against resolutions that quantify aims.
• I will invest one per cent of my annual income in improving my skills.
• I will answer all client e-mails within 24 hours.
• I will start a business blog/social media page and post to it at least twice a week.
• I will attend at least one networking event every fortnight.
• I will make sure the business website gets updated every month.