Look back before gearing up for year ahead

Photo / Thinkstock

MYOB executive director Scott Gardiner has five tips to get your firm ready for 2014

While it can be tempting to switch off for the summer break, it's important to use the end of year not only as an opportunity to recharge yourself, but also as a chance to revitalise your business. This means taking stock of what has worked over the last year, looking for the areas where there is room for improvement, and finding ways to re-energise your team once they get back from their break.

Set your goals for the year ahead

The end of the year is a great time to take a big-picture view of how your business is doing and look at directions you would like to take it. Whether it's growing market share, or simply getting better control over your systems, setting goals helps you chart a course for where you want your business to be going.

Revisit your business plan

Having a clear business plan is the foundation of any successful business. A good business plan will ensure everything you do serves the strategy of helping your business to grow and succeed. It will contain elements such as a SWOT, insights into the market you operate in, your competitor offerings, marketing strategy, risk management policies and customer relationship management tactics.

Review contracts and suppliers

Review your current contracts and suppliers to see if you are getting maximum value for your money. See if there are any deals available through suppliers that you aren't currently receiving.

Catch up with your advisers

Your business advisers are among your most useful business relationships - get their advice for the year ahead. Now provides an opportunity to tap into your wider networks and find out if there is anything on the horizon that will present opportunities in the coming year.

Work to re-engage your team

For staff, coming back from the Christmas break and getting back into "work-mode" can be a bit of an adjustment, so it pays to take some steps to refocus your team. Getting fired up about projects on the horizon and what they can do to help the business succeed is a great way to get them back on task.