Your 2015 Business Review
Another year is coming to a close, and that means it’s time to look back at what you’ve achieved.
Did you start up your business this year? If you did, congratulations! You made it to the end of your first year in business. And for those entrepreneurs and individuals who have been going a little longer you too have cause to celebrate, as you survived another cut-throat year in the digital sphere.
Sadly, many businesses will have closed their doors for good this year due to the effects of Digital Darwinism. These businesses – which we refer to as Digital Dodos here at VPS.NET – may well be back at the drawing board, struggling to innovate and revive their business idea. If you fall into this category, know that the new year ahead is filled with nothing but promise for your entrepreneurial efforts. Start afresh, work hard and don’t let one failure put you off online business for life.
A reminder to anyone who suffered a knockback this year in the business sphere: Henry Ford went bankrupt once, failed at his second entrepreneurial attempt due to a fallout with a partner, and almost failed again on his third attempt at business. He persevered and created one of the biggest automotive companies on the planet: Ford Motor Co.
So for all those business minds who have made it to this point, it’s time to take stock of just how you got here.
There are two questions you need to ask yourself now, as we approach 2016:
- How did we perform?
- What needs to change next year?
Reviewing your business’s performance over the past 12 months is vital if you hope to progress successfully. It’s no secret that you should keep doing the things that work, but what about the dead weight, the projects that actually didn’t benefit your business whatsoever?
Complete an inventory of all that you’ve completed over the year, including products released and marketing campaigns. Calculate the return on investment (ROI) from each campaign by subtracting your costs from your profits, and determine how successful each effort was. This will give you an idea of what works for your brand, and you’ll know which campaigns actually cost your company more than their worth. This will help you focus your efforts in the coming year.
Once you’ve tallied up everything you’ve achieved over the year, it’s time to celebrate. You’ve made it to the end of the year without going bust which is more than many business owners can say: according to Bloomberg, eight out of 10 startups fail within the first 18 months. If you’re reaching a milestone year such a five or even 10 years in business, it’s truly time to break out the bubbly. Remember how important it is to reward everyone who keeps your company running: your staff are a huge part of your brand DNA.
Once you’ve taken time out to congratulate yourself and your team it’s time to look forward towards 2016. The year ahead will by no means be easy, much like this year, and it’s important that you’re cutting out any processes which are pulling your company back. If you’re underperforming you have to look into why, and weed out any processes or personnel who are dragging you down. Any processes which have been rewarding thus far should be carried forward into 2016.
From everyone here at VPS.NET, we hope that you’ve had a prosperous 2015. As we head towards 2016 be sure that your business website is built on a solid foundation; check out how our cloud servers could be your reliable solution over on our website.