Plan for Growth & Profits in 2011
Stewart B. Johnson quotes (British artist known for his figurative work )
2010 is coming to a close and now might be the time to review last years successes and failures and put in place some strategies for growth and profits in the the upcoming year . Make a list of what worked . What didn't work? What projects that were started and may not have been completed? Take this opportunity to re focus & re evaluate your business from top to bottom. List ideas for the coming year and prioritize them and plan to record results of each endeavor to help with future years planning.
First re evaluate your pricing. Have you allowed for a cost of living increase? Many groomers like the idea of under pricing the competition. These businesses may have more customers but are probably working a lot harder than they need to. Take into account all your expenses, your salary, hours you want to work. Add in for some profit, maybe 10%, and through some simple calculations you can come up with what you need to make by the hour to meet those needs. Compare this to your current pricing. Are you getting paid correctly for the work you do? If raising your prices to meet this number scares the bejesus out of you , consider adding another stream of income to your business. I wrote about this in an earlier post if you need some ideas.
Consider what business marketing you did last year. Did you find that some of the things you did were a waste of time & effort? What successes did you have in your marketing? Think about what you might be able to do to enhance your current marketing plan. Are you utilizing all mediums available to small business owners? Have a calendar of events and plan a whole years worth of marketing month by month. Time invested in this will not be wasted.
No successful business operates without a budget. Not having one is an invitation for failure.Business owners need to know where their money is going. One can identify strengths & weaknesses. Looking at the past years budget, how did it compare to actual spending? A budget does take a commitment of time and some common sense but is essential in planning for growth in customers and revenue.
Create a sales forecast based on the previous year and you will have what you can expect from your current customer base. You can then add in a 10-20% projected income based on the marketing plans in place for the coming year. Review spending in fixed and variable categories and make changes where you can. Focus spending on what was successful in 2010. Budgets need to be reviewed and changed as the unexpected happens.Reallocate spending from what was not working to what did
Once you have a budget in place start setting small achievable goals for yourself. Define priorities and set reasonable deadlines. Outline what needs to happen to achieve these goals.Set attainable goals for customer growth and increased sales. It's important not to overwhelm yourself. Build on your successes, no matter how small. This leads to future successes as you grow. Put your goals where you can see them and you are constantly reminded of them. Out of sight, out of mind. If you fail to accomplish one of your goals, don't despair. Break it down into a smaller goal and build from there.
Continue in the coming year to work on branding your business. What plans can you put in place to further define your brand? Branding is a promise you make to your customer. Your efforts need to creative and consistent. If you have not already, create a mission statement. Be focused and clear on how your service/product will benefit the customer. Know your target market inside and out. What needs do they have? What motivates them to do business with you? Attract new customers with unique ways to market your services and/or products. Your customers want to know who you are and share the same values. Communicate with them, listen to what they say. Accept critisicsm and learn from your mistakes. What needs to happen within your business to keep up with current trends and customers needs. Anticipate their future needs and look for innovative solutions. Deliver what you promise consistently to keep your currnet clients. It is less costly to keep current customers than to get new ones.
Lastly, unless you work by yourself, hire employees carefully. They represent you & your brand. Train them well and encourage them to support your ideas and values in your absence. This post touched briefly on a variety of subjects a business owner should review. This is just the tip of the ice berg and there is plenty of help out there if you need more help in any one of these areas. Good luck on your endeavors and I hope I have motivated you to make some plans for the up coming year for success. I would love to hear what any of you have done and/or what has worked for you. Happy New Year and a proserous 2011!!!!!
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