Year-end
retrospectives are popular this time of year, sweetened this particular
year by century and millennium reviews. But these exercises in
looking back have their real value to business owners in looking
forward, for the future is the only time period over which there
is any influence.
So the process should become one of recounting last year with
an eye on how to shape 2000 to be the strongest business year.
Consider these six areas of review and goal setting.
·Financial record keeping. In retrospect, were monthly
financial reports produced? Were they used to track expenses,
cash flow, employee costs, cost-of-goods expenses and the like?
If the answers to these questions is "no," then the
goals for 2000 should be clear. Virtually every successful business
owner will attest to the value of this information and its usefulness
in creating a successful enterprise.
·Profit. Business is less about gross sales than about
profit. Making a good profit is a desired outcome of a good business,
but it requires work. Was there profit in 1999? How much? Was
that net profit or gross profit? What steps can be taken to increase
profit without diminishing quality and service? This is an area
rich with opportunities for review and commitment to new-century
goals.
·Customers. Customer service continues to sink to new lows.
Everyone can recount horror stories of customer abuse, so renewed
attention to the importance of customer service should be an easy
goal to set. There is no business, whether it's IBM or Joe's Taco
Stand, without customers, yet there remains a world of difference
between talking about customer service and implementing it. The
2000 commitment here is obvious.
·Marketing. The world may not have beaten a path to the
business door in 1999 and probably won't in 2000 without some
marketing effort. What was done in 1999? Did it work? What's worth
repeating? Dropping? Should additional marketing efforts be made
in areas of paid advertising? Direct mail? Customer contact? The
opportunities to market a business are limitless and there is
no absolute method for success. What won't work, however, is no
marketing effort at all.
·Employees. Few businesses can operate without employees,
but few employers are thrilled with employee performance. Are
good hires made? Do training programs exist? Are employees encouraged
to develop new skills? Is good performance rewarded? Are workers
praised in public? Are weaknesses pointed out and goals set for
improvement? And, finally, are consistently poor performers terminated?
If these goals were not met in 1999, then the future is clear
to set new standards in 2000.
·The business owner. Business ownership is no fun if there
is no measurable progress and a reward or two. Did the business
meet its 1999 goals? Was there more profit? More time for the
owner to spend on visioning? More time to implement those visions?
More time to be in charge and less a victim of business?
Year-end is really year-beginning, a time to work at making 2000
the best business year ever. n
_______________________________________________________________________________
Marcia Pry is a business consultant. She can be reached at Business
Advocates, 503/227-3866, or marciap@teleport.com.
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