Her Magazine is New Zealand’s only women’s business lifestyle magazine! Her Magazine highlights the achievements of successful and rising New Zealand businesswomen. Her Magazine encourages a healthy work/life balance.
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Your Year Celebrate the year's successes, but resolve to do better in 2012 AS ONE YEAR DRAWS to an end we naturally start thinking about what we'd like to achieve in the year to come. Quite commonly we say we are going to lose weight, exercise more and spend more time with our friends and family. But what about plans for your business's year ahead? What resolutions could you undertake to make 2012 a great year for your business, making it leaner, more financially fit and ultimately enhance your lifestyle? Set yourself some challenging goals: Think about what you want to achieve in your business in 2012. Pull out your old business plans, dust them off and think about what success would mean to you at the end of next year. Break these goals into monthly achievable tasks and milestones. Then check in and review your progress each month. Evaluate your goals from a financial prospective, prepare a budget model and work through the what-ifs so you understand the financial impact of your goal setting. Ensure that the numbers stack up and you understand the resources you need to implement your plans. Be a positive leader: Coming back from holiday you will hopefully be refreshed and excited about the plans you have for the year ahead. Try and maintain this positive energy, focus and excitement throughout the whole year. Share the goals and plans you have for your business with your staff and help them to understand the important part they play in making the business a success. Motivate your staff by taking them on the journey with you. Be prepared to listen to their ideas and trust them to do their jobs well. Clean up the messes: It might be the frontage of your business or the back office, but there's always an area in a business that could do with a clean up or change. Think about the areas or processes in your business that are not working as efficiently as you may like them to, and plan to change them. Get your staff involved in providing suggestions for improvement and create a working environment that embraces changes that create efficiencies. Spend more time with your customers: Your customers are one of your biggest assets: they can offer constructive criticism and praise, and be sources of new business. Spend some time with them to understand their needs and expectations, and get feedback on your products and services. It's important to make them feel cared about and valued, but also that you genuinely listen to them. If they give feedback make sure you respond by acting on it or talk to them further about the issue. Protect your business: Review your insurance policies and ensure you understand exactly what you are covered for. While it might sound gloomy, spend time assessing your disaster recovery plans. If 2011 has taught New Zealanders anything, it's that the unexpected can happen any time. So give yourself the peace of mind that in the event of something untoward happening to you, or your business, it will be protected and continue in the manner you would want it to. Admit your weaknesses: Identify the areas in your business that you need help with and find an expert to provide the advice required. If numbers are not your thing, spend time with your accountant so you get the help you need to prepare you budget. Fully understanding the financial drivers of your business will help you achieve your financial goals faster. Take time out for your own professional development, particularly in an area where you feel your skills are lacking. Stick to the plan: As we all know, the trick to New Year's resolutions is keeping focused. Try not to be distracted by other projects or ventures that don't help you achieve your overall goals. Monitoring your performance is the best way to stay focused: be disciplined about undertaking regular self-appraisals and ensure it is part of your routine. And, of course, celebrate your successes. All the best for 2012. Bridget Musker www.deloitte.com/nz HER MAGAZINE | December/January 2012 | 43