Business Planning

Now that the holidays are over, many of us feel the need to take a deep breath and let it out as we pause and reflect on the year behind us while also looking to the year ahead. The beginning of a new year is a great time to create a vision for the coming days and get clear about goals for your business.

Business owners would benefit from taking the time to map out a plan for the future before the year gets away, even if it seems difficult to invest the time. You can save time for yourself and your employees down the road by getting your year started with purpose and focus. So what is a business to do in planning for the future?

We talked with local experts to get some tips about areas in which businesses can benefit from planning as well as an understanding of the services these experts offer to help businesses in setting goals for 2020.

Perfect Your Business Processes and Operations

One way that any business can bump efficiency and success to the next level is by refining the business’s processes and operations. Jethro Hopkins, co-founder of No Coast Business Advisors, offered advice to business owners on this topic:

“The most important item is getting your processes in order. Everyone working in a business should know how it runs whether or not the manager is present. If processes and expectations are clear and in place, goals will naturally fall into place as well,” he said. “One goal that every business owner would do well to define is creating an exit strategy for the day the business owner plans to hand off the reins to someone else, and a plan for owner loss. It should be simple for someone else to step in and see how everything works.

Unfortunately, many people don’t think about this ahead of time. Businesses with no exit plans in place get a lot less money and pay more in taxes. These businesses only end up taking home about 78% of the sale price on average. For businesses worth more than $5 million, the statistics look very different. This is because 8 out of 10 of these business owners have an exit plan in place ahead of time. Consequently, they end up taking home an average of 110% of the sale value for their businesses, which also tend to sell more quickly and with less of a headache.

At No Coast Business Advisors, we help get your processes and operations in order and create a clear exit strategy so you can easily pass the torch to someone else and become part of the percentage that takes home the value of your business or more when you sell, and as painlessly as possible.”

Improve Your Marketing Approach

If you find that your business has not received the recognition and positioning in the industry that you desire, it may be time to update your marketing approach.

We spoke with Jon Weiss, founder of ShineForth, for more insight.

“Our team has decades of experience working with clients from around the country,” Jon shared. “We love to code, develop our craft, and build solutions that help businesses grow. It’s our passion and what drives us each day. Whether you need a website, mobile app, enterprise platform, or a technology roadmap that works for your business, we want to be the partner that you trust.”

Jon understands that business owners need to be flexible in their marketing approach to keep up with changing trends and technology advancements.

“Innovation moves fast, technology can be complex, and getting it wrong can be an expensive setback to your business,” Jon stated. “What worked yesterday, or something that was built last year, may not be able to keep pace with the growth of your business. Having a firm grasp on the technology platforms that support your business is critical.

Knowing where those platforms are going is even more important. For those reasons, it is more important than ever to have the right technology partner that can help you achieve your business growth goals with dependable technology solutions that are rock solid, secure, and scalable at the speed of business.”

Refine Your Budget and Financial Plans

No matter the industry, one thing every business has in common is the need to budget. Especially at the outset of a new year, it is important to define your budget so that it aligns with your primary business goals. As you review your budget, you may find that certain expenses are taking a toll on your finances. Many businesses find credit card processing fees to be particularly burdensome, especially fees for large-ticket items. CurrencyPay with Sandhills Global offers solutions to this problem.

CurrencyPay helps you unlock your business potential as the first payment platform designed for buying and selling large-ticket items. With CurrencyPay’s services, you can optimize large-ticket transactions with ease through multiple payment options so your customers always have a way to pay for larger purchases. In addition to traditional payment methods such as credit, debit, and ACH, CurrencyPay allows you to offer your customers flexible financing at the point of sales. There are no long-term commitments with CurrencyPay—you can process payments on your terms so you can focus on growing your business.

Finally, CurrencyPay provides exclusive inventory finance programs for you, allowing you to take advantage of a custom-tailored experience, including 0% interest for 90 days and more.

Take Care of Your Team!

In all your planning, don’t lose sight of one of your most important assets—your employees! Consider services that can offer a little extra care and attention for your team. While this may not produce direct results to grow your business, it will create an atmosphere to help your employees thrive. They will then be more eager to pass on the good vibes to your customers.

Elizabeth Hallgren, co-founder and CEO of Mission Direct Primary Care, shared her experience of helping business owners improve their offerings for employees and positioning their business in the industry as one that employees want to stay with for a long time.

“Business owners cannot overlook the need to build and retain their team in 2020,” she said. “Omaha has a very low unemployment rate which makes keeping your existing team happy and positioning your business as an employer of choice in your industry a major priority. Since health benefits regularly show up in employee surveys as one of the top three biggest concerns, 2020 should be the year you plan to up-level your health benefits.

No matter what that means for your business, Mission Direct Primary Care can help. If your business currently doesn’t offer a health benefit or offers a high-deductible health plan, the addition of a Mission Direct Primary Care membership for your employees can eliminate their out-of-pocket cost for primary care and give them access to a doctor that can see them quickly and on-time and who will take their calls after hours for urgent needs. This type of access reduces lost productivity at work and ultimately saves the employer money. Membership is a relatively low-cost health benefit that your employees and recruits will see the direct value of in their wallet and in their health.”

Business planning for the future is a great way to get a laser-like focus on where you are and where you’re going. A plan can help you identify what expert services you may be missing that can take your business to the next level. We hope 2020 is your most successful year yet!