The beginning of a new financial year is an excellent time to review last year and reflect on what worked, what didn’t, what you’d like to change and new things you want to implement.
Take the time to review the past financial year and acknowledge all that has happened, good, bad or indifferent. Examining the year with an objective perspective can provide valuable insights to prepare for the coming business year. Planning and goal setting will help provide a focus for your business efforts.
Some questions to ask yourself about the last financial year
- What were the most significant impacts on your business in the last 12 months? How well did you meet the challenges?
- What worked well last year? What systems, technology, products or services were successful?
- What accomplishments can you celebrate?
- What situation, event or experience provided the biggest learning opportunity?
- What is the biggest challenge or frustration you face as you prepare for the year ahead?
- What did you most enjoy during the year? Do more of it. What did you least enjoy? Do less of it!
- Analyse your financial reports. Are you earning what you’d like to? Is the business sustainably profitable?
Get ready for a great year
While there are many metrics you could evaluate to track business performance, we’ve given you just a few ideas to inspire your business planning for a positive start to the year.
As your accountant, we won't just look after the financial side of your business, we can also advise you on the strategic side of your company, including the importance of business development as a vital part of your business growth plan.
Business development (BD) is what helps your company move from slow, organic growth to fast-paced, hypergrowth. And it’s only by putting the right drive and expertise behind your BD that you can turn your strategic ideas into real success stories.
So, how can we help you achieve this?
Talk about your strategic goals
The starting point for any kind of BD activity is to pin down your goals and aims as a business. This is why a business plan is vital. When you know what you want to achieve over the coming months, it’s far easier to define a strategy for success. And that’s easier to do when you talk to an objective adviser, like us.
We can talk to your executive team and get a real handle on what makes the business tick. And, armed with this knowledge, we’ll work with you to drive the direction of your BD and find the best opportunities for you to focus on.
Help you create a clear BD strategy and plan
Having a defined set of BD goals is a good starting point. But to put this all into action in a productive way, you’re going to need a comprehensive plan for your BD projects.
Our years of experience advising business leaders and their teams really comes into play here. We know the best routes to take, the budgets that will be needed and the right tactics for bringing in more contracts, sales and partnerships. By putting these strategies into a clear plan, and linking this to agreed timescales, you have a BD route map to follow and action.
Introduce you to a broader network of business partners
We work with a wide range of businesses across many different sectors, industries and niches. By introducing you to our network of clients, we welcome you into a supportive community of like-minded business owners. And that’s excellent news when looking for new partnerships.
Whether it’s attending a local conference, an online webinar or one of our in-house client events, you’re going to meet new people, share new ideas and make the right connections. This is a great way to build alliances and work together with other local businesses. And when you’re well-connected, you set the very best foundations for your future BD activity.
Provide better routes to funding and investment
Whatever goals you’ve set for your BD projects, it’s likely that you’re going to need additional funding to finance this activity. Investing in your expansion, or new partnerships, is vital to getting a good return on your BD, so great access to finance is a definite bonus.
We’ll advise you on the most appropriate funding channels and how you can use these facilities to finance your BD plans. And we can also link you up with banks, lenders and business finance specialists – so you get the advice and finance you need to bring your BD to life.
Help you track and measure your BD performance
Meeting your BD targets takes time – and a whole lot of dedication. Measuring your BD performance over time, helps you stay on track and gives you a good indication of how well you’re tracking against your planned progress.
We’ll help you create the reporting and metrics you need, so you have clear data to track your progress over time. You can log your activity in your project management system, or your client relationship management (CRM) software, and keep clear notes on contacts made, relationships built and targets converted etc.
If you want to get more from your BD, please come and talk to us. We’ll partner with you to put some real drive, experience and impetus behind your BD strategies.
