3 New Year’s Resolutions for Your Business

Most people use the start of a new year to make resolutions for personal improvement in the coming year. So why not do the same for your business too?

Setting some achievable goals at the beginning of each year is a great way to make sure your SME stays on target with your expectations and your business plan. If you’re hoping to improve your business and thrive in 2018, here are three New Year’s resolutions you could adopt:

1. Go Green

Make your business the one to lead social change by adopting strategies to go green. Not only can it help you reduce waste, it also promotes a healthier work environment for your employees, money saving opportunities and a positive public image of your brand.

Many people add ‘getting fit’ to their personal list of New Year’s resolutions, so you could help them achieve this goal by introducing a cycle scheme. There are plenty of compact ‘on-the-go’ fold up bikes available on the market, such as the ones made by Brompton, so it’s easier than ever for your employees to stay healthy. Encouraging your employees to cycle to work will improve fitness levels, reduce carbon emissions from cars and create a generally more positive workplace.

2. Improve Communications

One of the areas that can really help your business to grow is by streamlining your operations and a great way to do this is by looking at how you communicate. With stronger in-house communications, you can be more efficient and save money. Be sure to learn about private branch exchange as a way to improve business communications across your entire organization.

Here are other examples of how you can improve communications:

• Adopt cloud computing so that files can be accessed by all employees, whether they work in different offices around the world or if they’re simply working from home. They can all access and edit documents in real-time, eliminating the need for slow document deliveries or the issues related to having multiple versions in circulation.
• Use a video calling technology like Skype to conduct conferences or international business meetings and your business will make significant savings on travel costs.
• Adopt an instant messaging system within the office so that your employees can communication with ease.

3. Get Active in your Local Community

For small independent businesses, it’s worth it to form a community with other local retailers and SMEs to create meaningful connections.

Initiatives such as Small Business Saturday celebrate the importance of independent businesses and how they can benefit everyone in the local community. But don’t limit your involvement to just this one day a year – plan to get more active in local initiatives, promotions and support charitable organisations like local food banks or homeless shelters.

Not only will you feel a sense of achievement in helping improve your community, but it could improve employee morale through a positive workplace culture and promote a positive image of your company to potential customers.

If you’re hoping to improve your business in 2018, consider adopting our three top New Year’s resolutions that could help your SME thrive and grow.