Planning for your second year in business

The first year in Business is tough, I know, I’ve been there! But let me tell you now, its gets even tougher in year two and year three unless you keep reassessing key elements for opening and running a successful business. It is my belief that to truly own a successfully growing business there are two key questions you should be asking yourself every morning. Where do I want my company to be one year from now? Smart business builders consistently challenge themselves on these two issues. Reassessing, reevaluating and establishing reachable and measurable goals in advance. Keeping it simple is my mantra. I believe to get your business foundation strong then grow from that you need to consistently reassess three key areas. Vision Look at your first-year vision plan. How does it compare with what you originally forecast for the 12 months that have passed? What has changed? What areas need to be further developed or scrapped completely? Involve all the team in the process of developing a company vision for the future. Work together. Be bold and think about a two-three-year vision. Don’t be scared to commit to paper the vision you and the team share, anything can and should be changed if it no longer fits within the growth of the company. The team needs to be heard, understood and respected to ensure 100% commitment towards the vision. Goal Setting Set and have accepted attainable goals. The next step is to clearly communicate to the team exactly what needs to happen on an individual and team level to achieve the goals.  Everyone should know their targets, their skill levels and when and how to discuss current and future performance. The team should also be consistently encouraged to be accountable for their own destiny and understand how positive outcomes will benefit themselves and the company. Communicating and mutually understanding specific goals with in an agreed time frame will ensure attainment of goals and targets will be more easily achieved. Results from recent research carried out by Forbes states that the establishment of specific goals result in significantly higher performance than general goal setting. Business Plan Take a new look. So many people I know in business use a business plan to gain funds then after that never give it a second thought! Your business plan is a plan! And for that reason needs to be reviewed regularly. Finally, have a Plan B:  Even with your best efforts, you won’t reach every goal. Knowing this allows for some variation in your plans. There should always be an alternative that addresses unexpected challenges or opportunities that are beyond your control.  And above all don’t beat yourself up on every small mistake you make. Being in business is all a learning curve and everybody makes a slip up from time to time. Be kind to yourself and learn to reward yourself when you do something well!   Penny Etheridge, founder of the Radiant Hair Consultancy, is recognised as a highly qualified and passionate business coach, lecturer and presenter for the hair and beauty industry. With over 30 years in the business, Penny has first-hand experience of owning salons and recognises all the issues a salon owner faces today. She is regional head of London for the Association of Business Mentors and is a member of the institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs. She also sits on the steering committee for the Hair Council. Penny is a certified NLP Practitioner and has been the recipient of countless industry awards for her work over the years.