Small Business Success: Late Winter Planning
Welcome back to our Small Business Success Series. We took a bit of a break there after the holidays to reset, recoup, and get energized for the coming busy season. Deep winter is a time of year when many people do just that - take a bit of a break and come back ready to go when things pick back up. Now that we are approaching the middle of February it’s go time again.
Why Now?
What makes this time of year a great time to jump back into things? We’ve gotten enough distance from the craziness of Christmas time that most people have recovered financially and mentally from the drain. It can take a while to really recharge the batteries from the parties, the work, the crowds, all that.
Late winter is also a time when business might be a bit slow. For many in the tourism and outdoor industries, this time of year you might be getting some inquiries for the coming summer but it’s not really kicked in yet. The lull is a great opportunity to take a serious look at what your business needs to get done over the course of the next year.
Spring, summer, and the busy season will all be here before we know it. By thinking ahead and working proactively, you can be ahead of the curve and put yourself, your team, and your success on a much better track.
Make A Plan
What do you really want to accomplish this year? Is it a financial goal? Getting a new website in place? Expanding your business to a new location or increase your digital sales? There’s a lot of things that every business owner wants to do and wants to get done each year. If you don’t have a solid plan with goals in place, you’ll never achieve what you could.
So how do you actually go about making your plan for the coming year? Well, you could google it and be instantly overwhelmed with the plethora of apps, software, programs, and tools that can “magically” change your life with planning and organization, all for the low low cost of $9.95/month! While these tools can work well, our team has used a lot of them and there is no substitute quite like a yellow legal pad and a pen.
Getting started is the hardest part. Don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be. Those tools can be useful as things get more complex, but just start with the basics.
On that yellow legal pad write down the top five things you want for your business this year. Then, under each of those, write down the first three things you need to do to make them happen. That’s it. Start with that.
Think Strategically
As a business owner, it’s easy to get lost in the weeds. We get focused on the minutia and lose sight of the big picture. This is the time of year to zoom out and really think strategically. Look at the big picture, dream big, think of what you could do with your business, your team, and your skills. There’s no limit on where you can take your business and what you can do.
Dreaming big can help you set your goals, and thinking strategically can help you solidify what you need to get done to make it happen. You start to see the sequential steps of things that need to be done, what work has be fulfilled first, and what your first step is. Dreaming of selling $250k on your e-commerce store? Might be time to think about a website redesign, creating some new content around your product, and launching a CPC ad campaign to drive sales. Want to be the industry leader in your space for your local region? Take a look at your branding, and clearly redefine your mission and value proposition.
Thinking strategically can sound scary, but it only helps to break down the larger tasks into more manageable chunks. Integrate this into your plan and make it happen.
How We Can Help
If you’re looking to make some big changes for your business this year but aren’t sure where to start, we can help. We’ve got years of experience not only in digital marketing, but planning, goal setting and business development.
Let our team help you make 2025 the best year of your career. With a solid and clear plan, backed up by the tools to make it happen, you’re on the right track. Contact us today to get started.