If you truly want 2016 to be your best year in business yet, you’ll need to set new goals and work on a realistic action plan achieve them. For me, goal-setting is always a fun activity; it’s the actual getting-off-my-butt step that is the most challenging. If you are seeking bigger and brighter profits, read my tips below on how you can plan to have your best year of business yet.
Review New Federal & Florida State Laws
As a business planning attorney, I brief my clients at the beginning of the year on the new federal and Florida State laws that will impact their business. There are several new employment law changes will likely take effect this year. For example: the Department of Labor’s decision to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) wage and overtime laws could have a huge impact on employers, big and small. Since the FLSA wage and overtime laws have not been updated since 2004 we all could be in for a surprise this fall. The DOL states that this update is needed to bring federal wage standards in line with changes in inflation, BUT they aren’t saying anything more about it.
An increase in wage and overtime compensation absolutely would impact your bottom line. Make sure you pay close attention to the new increase the government may propose on employee compensation and plan accordingly.
Get Rid of Bad Business Habits
Breaking bad business habits isn’t always an easy thing to do. Procrastination is a top bad business habit that even top CEOs struggle with resolving. Procrastination may be hard to notice initially and can take various forms. From something small, like taking an extra “Facebook break” to something bigger (like delaying your A/R collections) procrastination can absolutely hamstring your business priorities.
A lot of business leaders use daily lists: ranking their tasks by importance and then implementing a plan of attack to complete each one within a timely manner. You have to be realistic with your goals and benchmarks along the way, however. If you complete a task in a timely manner instead of waiting to the last minute, you will (naturally) have more time to do the things you enjoy. Finally, ridding your office or workstation of distractions or reading some self-help books about time-management can certainly help focus your time and energy on getting things done.
How to Effectively Set Attainable Business Goals
At the beginning of the year, set attainable business goals your company will strive to achieve. Have a plan of action as to how such goals can be achieved and don’t be afraid to change the plan as often as it takes to keep moving forward. Give your employees the tools and/or training they need to hit the targets that you’ve set for them. Most importantly, encourage and reward employees along the way. This will help increase everyone’s career satisfaction and put you one step close to achieving your goals.
I hope the tips above help and that 2016 is your best year of business yet.
Sources
5 Employment Law Changes Which US Employers Should Expect In 2016