As we get ready to say goodbye to 2016, many businesses are winding down for the holiday period. But were there any decisions your business made in 16 that you might regret? With a new year comes a new start. I have asked a number of businesses to let me know what their business resolutions are for 2017.
Matt Press, from Splash Copywriters:
In terms of my new year's resolution, it's to help as many business websites reach page one of Google as possible [I'm a bit of an SEO nerd, I'm afraid]. I'm aiming for 365 sites.
Social Media expert Carmen Lascu, who has just released her own book “Social Media Trends for 2017: 25 Influencers and Social Media Experts from UK, USA, and Australia Shared Their Predictions”
Help entrepreneurs develop their social media skills by providing new articles on my blog, access to my Free online course and new books. In 2017 I plan to start organising workshops and seminars to share my tips and make business owners aware of the Social Media Trends expected for 2017. Coaching and mentoring are also in my radar.
Keith White from Dobell Menswear had this to say about their resolution:
Business resolution is to firstly embrace technology for the development of our business, but most importantly to turn away from relying on technology in the development of our culture (email, IM, phone) and start communicating face to face more. As we grow, we want to hold on to that family feel within the business and not turn into faceless robots.
Steve Mills from PMC Telecom:
Selling on service - its been our company motto since 1991 and we plan to push that a step further this year.
Rymer Associates had this to say:
Our 2017 Resolution is to help our local community more. We will be taking part in various charity days and initiative and have offered extra time off for our employees if they’re volunteering in the local area. Plus, we will be funding a student from a under privileged background through their studies in accounting and offering them employment at the end of the course.
Stu Campbell, founder of Mash PR, an ambitious public relations firm based in London, believes that 2017 will be a defining year for his business as it ramps up global growth from a post-Brexit Britain.
This coming year will be all about going the extra mile in every single thing we do & redefining ourselves as a new generation of PR agency. We have ambitious plans for growth & to achieve these we need to adapt both culturally & operationally. I firmly believe that change should be embraced & the challenges it presents should be channelled into commercial opportunity.
2016 saw us say goodbye to several of our smaller clients & really define who we want to work with moving forward. Our focus is on innovative consumer goods & services which have a digital twist - & by this I mean they use technology to add value to our every day lives.
We now think & act ‘globally’ - in order to compete & win in overseas markets this mind-shift was essential. For example, we have already introduced 24/7 working flexibility for our team – where staff can work any hours, of any day. This is great for clients in different time zones & it also gives our team freedom to work from home, overseas or in the office. Our office is a co-working space where we have 24/7 access & it works just perfectly.
This different approach to team management is proving to be an immense success & means we can offer international services to our clients at a cost effective fee (we’re not cheap though!). Plus it provides for centralised strategy, planning & reporting. This initiative has already driven up productivity across the team – as pride, ownership & results have all increased.
We are a London-based business & we are a British business - we are immensely proud of those two facts. But by changing our culture & service offering - we now successfully operate on a global stage.
2017 will see us solidify our presence in both the Far Eastern & North American markets – building upon our existing lines of business from within those geographies.
I firmly believe the biggest drivers behind this shift have been – our adoption of cloud–based technology, our change in working culture, refreshed management & our increasingly diverse mix of staff.
Stephanie Chivers, from ichange21.com, said:
My new years resolution is to hustle like never before, Meet lots of new people and shout from the rooftops how great my product is. Guest blog once a month, Network once a month, speak once a month. Get a mentor that really knows thier stuff. Make friends with journalists. Publish my book. relentless hustling :)
Melanie Jones, who runs Melanie Jones PR as well as co-founding Borderless-GFMF, is planning on a busy 2017 with all her business interests. She had this to say about her resolutions:
Apart from having Melanie Jones PR, I am also the co-founder of Borderless Global Fashion Market Frankfurt, and on the board of directors at Union Dance . All things that are dear to me and it doesn't look like I will be less active. So my New Years resolution for my business is all about streamlining. Whether it means through software, reviewing our processes, ways of doing things, automising some processes or adding to the team. This will be my main focus to be more effective and to get more done in less time.