For most large companies, December was filled with nailing down 2015 performance plans and goals for the coming year. But if you work for yourself, you probably have a better sense of what happened in 2014 than where your business will be by the end of 2015.
To kick-start your New Year and plan for success in 2015, here are my top five resolutions for small businesses:
1. Develop your trademarks
Whatever your business, you probably have a trademark registered in your name. You may also have trademarks on one or more of your products or services. Trademarks become protectable through use in commerce, but you can further develop them by using them wisely.
Take an inventory of your assets and trademarks and think carefully about what sets you apart from your competitors. Does the name reflect that value? Does it differ from a simple description of your good or services? The more distinctive and aspirational the name, the better. For example, a mobile soup cart called “soup2go” likely has minimal trademark protection, while “Souper Jenny” may leave a more solid impression.
Once you know all your marks, ask yourself if you’re using them consistently as trademarks. If you use your marks to describe your product or service, you risk becoming generic. Take “escalator,” for example, which was once a trademark and is now just a method of travel. Your trademarks are valuable — and if you neglect them, they’ll lose their value.
2. Improve your communication
Every company needs to communicate effectively with its customers, but most small businesses don’t have any systematic way to measure this. I don’t mean not knowing whether their customers like them; that’s an entirely separate issue. Rather, they don’t know whether their customers understand them or, more importantly, whether they understand their customers.
Social media is an effective communication tool, and if you’re not using it, you’re missing an opportunity. In addition, the personal touch of a handwritten note can go a long way.
Take some time to identify three things you can do to better communicate with your customer base in 2015. Whether it’s rebuilding your website, using social media, tracking where new customers heard about you, or just taking the time to send five handwritten notes each week, effective communication strategies will pay dividends.
And, while you’re at it, think about how you can use your trademarks when you communicate.
3. Complete three priority, not pressing, tasks each day
Imagine that you could accomplish a thousand more things than your competitors in the course of 2015. Would that make a difference in how your business grows? It’s easy. Here’s how: Each day, make a list of three top-priority tasks and make sure those three things get done by the day’s end.
I don’t mean the most pressing items on your to-do list, like paying a credit card bill that’s due today, but rather those items that are most important. They might be the things you normally save for downtime, like optimizing your Web page or updating your bio with a trade association. Edge out your competition simply by making these important things a priority.
4. Consider both your upside and downside risks
Every business has an awareness of downside risks, and generally some mitigation process in place. For example, if a customer doesn’t pay, you probably have a collections process and a line of credit to cover the costs. But have you thought about your upside risks?
What if you reach capacity right when a big order comes in, or what if a chance to sell globally comes across your desk? Take some time to consider which opportunities you will chase and which ones you won’t. Saying “no” to a lucrative deal can be a positive decision if you know it’s not what you set out to achieve with your business, but not being able to say “yes” because you didn’t plan ahead feels terrible.
5. Make sure you have three layers of protection
If you don’t have a written contract with your customers, like terms of use or an order form, you know what you need to do: get one. But a contract alone is not enough. Think in terms of three layers of protection:
- First, work with reliable and trustworthy customers and suppliers and build strong relationships. The communication tips above will help.
- Second, consider practical steps to avoid disaster. Avoiding downside risks might include getting proper insurance, requiring upfront payment for custom orders, or instituting time-and-materials rather than fixed-cost bids. For upside risks, you might consider a line of credit so you can fulfill that unexpected big order or cover travel to that industry meeting you just heard about.
- Third, work with a business attorney to create well-written contracts, like terms of use guidelines or an order form, as well as other necessary protections.
Whether your business is already established or brand new in 2015, focusing your New Year’s resolutions on its growth will pay dividends in the long term.
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