A full week into the new year, have you resolved to make any improvements to your business? In light of all the resolutions that may (or may not) have been broken by now, we decided to share a few resolutions you could put into place to improve your business and its processes.

Make S.M.A.R.T.er Goals

I know, I know… it isn’t as though you don’t already have goals for your business to reach, whatever they may be. However, not all goals are set equally - there are ways that you can improve your likelihood of reaching them. One way is to follow the S.M.A.R.T. methodology, which means that all of your goals are made to be:

• Specific
• Measureable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Timely

To make sense of this, let’s create a S.M.A.R.T. goal here. To do so, we’ll assume you want to see more revenue come in. To make this more specific, let’s specify where that revenue should come from - perhaps recurring services. To make sure your progress is measurable, you want to set a few concrete values, as these are easier to measure and track. For our case, let’s say that you want to increase the number of people signed on to your recurring services by a total of 15 percent within the next month.

Now, ask yourself, is this goal an attainable one, under typical circumstances? While there is nothing wrong with being expeditious, you need to make sure that you aren’t sending yourself on a fool’s errand at the same time. So, let’s pretend that, in this scenario, you see a natural sign-on/conversion rate of about three percent for these services each month, and can increase that to five or six percent if you push them. That means that a goal of 15 percent is pretty much doomed for failure. As a result, we should adjust this goal to signing on 15 percent more in the next three months.

Furthermore, your goal needs to be relevant to your business’ ongoing success. Does the service you are pushing increase your profits, or does it make your other tasks simpler to accomplish? You should focus, first and foremost, on goals that benefit the business and/or its processes. Finally, and hearkening back to the selection of three months over one month, you need all of your initiatives to have a timely end. Otherwise, you won’t be as motivated to strive for success - you’ll probably get there someday, after all - and really, what kind of goal is that?

Motivate Your Team by Improving Your Culture

Not all business growth can necessarily be measured in mathematical terms. However, this other growth can have an impact on the benchmarks that you might first think to measure - such as generated revenue, employee retention, or productivity - as well as provide clearly visible benefits to your business. Basically, by making the workplace a place where people are happy to work, you can make progress toward these goals as a natural side effect,

To accomplish this, have your employees chime in and share what might make them feel more energized and enthused to come to work - and then try to act on it. By working to motivate everyone, you help lift up the culture of the entire workplace - as well as create an environment that attracts many prospects to join your team.

Strengthen Your Business Relationships

While many business owners might dream of becoming the next huge, global business, there are certain disadvantages to becoming one. For instance, when managing a colossal business like that - despite what many advertisements may say - the tendency is to make everything as impersonal as possible, mostly out of practical necessity. The thing is, many clients are looking for a personalized experience, the relationship that a smaller provider can provide. Building relationships like these can be the difference between you getting their business, and the conglomerates getting it. 

Are there any resolutions that you’ve made for your business this year? Share them in the comments, and don’t forget that we’re here to help with any of your technology needs to give you the best chance of accomplishing them! For more information, give us a call at (415) 295-4898.