When your company is developing and growing it is too easy to overlook some of the less exciting elements of being in business. However, my experience has shown that paying attention to these elements will help your business be more stable, more profitable and easier to run. At the beginning of this year (2007) I sat down to write up the official KDR-EBusiness Top 10 Business Resolutions, and the reasons why you should consider them. If you would like our assistance with putting some of the ideas below into action, then please get in touch.
1. Have a backup plan
Vital business information is stored on your computers. Make a point of checking that your backup plan is up to date and that you perform a recovery test at least once this year. When your computer hardware fails, you need to know that recovery is possible.
2. Update your business plan
Once a year, revisit your business plan – if you don’t have one you’ll find it is worth the effort to make one. There’s a good starting point here
3. Streamline your administration
Well run administration can make a huge difference to a company. You can always find room for improvement. Examine the way that work flows through your company, find and remove the roadblocks first, employ IT technology second.
4. Sort out your email
Make plans to deal with timewasting SPAM. Depending on your business sector, there are legal aspects to email use and storage that must be considered. Create an email management plan.
Oh, and sort out your inbox, you know you need to.
5. Watch the cash flow – carefully
get your accounts up to date, and keep them as close to real time as you can. If you don’t have an accounts package, then you should consider purchasing one this year – but don’t do it without skilled support and advice.
6. Train your staff
Focused training for staff will contribute to the success of your business, but make sure that the training matches a business goal.
7. Don’t maintain the status quo
The business environment changes all the time, your business needs to change to match it.
8. Update your website
If you do, make sure that it is standards compliant this time around. Your old website probably doesn’t work in many of the new browsers that have been released since it was last updated. A well planned Search Engine Marketing campaign might also help to improve the effectiveness of your website.
9. Don’t ask how much it costs, ask what value it adds
Work out the value to your business before making a purchase. If the value is greater than the purchase cost, then go ahead.
10. Tidy Up the workplace
Because you know you should.
And finally, please let us know what your top ten business resolutions are…
About the Author:
Rob Mercer is a Director of KDR E-Business Limited, which provides IT Management services to small and medium sized enterprises. Rob has a Masters Degree in IT and is also a member of the British Computer Society. He has over 25 years experience in a variety of IT roles and industry sectors. Despite this he can still converse in English, a fact much appreciated by his customers.
