In a volatile market, keeping to a strategy, or let’s face it creating one, can be tough.
The downside of not taking time out for your strategy is that there is a tendency to keep a short-term focus at an operational level to try and pick quick wins to generate financial returns. Sometimes in the process, this short-term focus undermines longer term value and returns.
Here are our ‘must dos’ to take your business full throttle in 2023:
Know what your position is.
A business health check is an analysis of the current state of your business. It is an analytical review of its operation with view to providing a broad overview of operating performance and identifying potential issues. Understanding your position will reveal your risks and capacity to develop.
If you aren't sure where to start, our team can assist you in completing your business health check and start to implement immediate improvements.
Know what to look for.
Once you know your position, the next question is what are the measures that are going to give you the best insight into business performance. In a volatile market, this information will give you what you need to make informed decisions at any one point in time.
We say it all the time, "Really knowing where you are now, and exactly where you want to be is crucial to getting there." .. Undertaking business advisory services allows us to identify & monitor your critical business numbers, forecast what's to come and work on growing the business and profit.
Be prepared to make quick decisions.
Once you've got the above two in order you can make quick decisions and take the first mover advantage. Knowing your position and having the data you need means you have your radar for identifying opportunities and mitigating risk. Most businesses are simply a replication of what they see. While the pandemic and market instability is difficult, we have also seen a wave of innovation as people adapt to find solutions.
Don’t bank on a single opportunity.
If COVID has taught us anything it is that things change, and we need to adapt and change with the circumstances. While one single opportunity might make all the difference, an overreliance on one product, service, or methodology of delivering those products and services, exposes you to risk.
Understand your end game.
What are you aiming for? Family empire? Fast growth and sale? Sustainable growth and sale as a retirement plan? Public listing? Even if you plan on simply running and growing your business for decades to come, that is a decision. Your end game and your progress towards that end game impacts your structure, focus, and decision making.
Document your strategy.
Document your strategy - knowing it in your head is not enough. This does not have to be an onerous War & Peace approach. It is understanding what you are aiming for, and breaking that down into measurable objectives, then into measurable outcomes and timeframes (preferably actionable against rolling 90 day plans). This approach also makes management meetings a lot more meaningful.
Setting your sights further into the future and reaching that bit higher is what creates truly life-changing opportunities - not just "business as usual" or a "little bit better than last year". Advisory-led accounting is all about looking forward, not backward. Where do you want to be in 12 months, 5 years, or even 10? How do you feel, what does your life look like?
Learn more about the specific business advisory services over here, and get in touch with our team if you'd like to discuss further.
We look forward to helping you go full throttle this year!