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What You Can Start Doing Now to Prepare Your Business for 2018

Next year is just around the corner.

A new calendar year is always a good opportunity to dust off your crystal ball and do some planning. It’s a good exercise even if the future appears more uncertain than ever.

For starters, take a step back and evaluate how you could have prepared your business better for 2017. Are there some aspects of your business that could have benefited from proper advanced planning? Did surprises this year catch you flat-footed?

Now, you can prepare your business for 2018. Ask yourself: How do I prepare the business for a worst-case scenario? What if everything goes better than expected?

It’s likely there are going to be challenges and opportunities in 2018 that you’ve never faced before. While you may not anticipate all of them, you’ll be able to manage them more effectively if you’re prepared.

Staffing challenges

Staff turnover is disruptive and replacing key people will be even more difficult as the unemployment rate drops. Are you prepared for your staff to leave you for another opportunity?

Consider how important your employees are to your organization, especially if you expect business growth in 2018. Are your wages on par or better than your competitors? Do you offer skimpy benefits? How is workplace morale? What is your plan for replacing employees who quit unexpectedly?

Cross-training employees in various tasks is one way to alleviate the disruption caused by departing staff. That’s going to be increasingly important because it may take time to replace people who leave your organization.

Perhaps you should consider beefing up your human-resources department with sharp recruiters. You may also find good staffing recruiters who specialize in finding temporary help in your industry.

Unexpected growth

Your business may experience faster growth than you anticipated. Rapid growth is one area that catches entrepreneurs by surprise and the results can be devastating as customer service suffers.

Prepare for rapid growth by discussing plans with your vendors and suppliers. Don’t forget about shipping and warehouse space if you are selling goods.

Your lenders should be a part of your planning, too. Are your credit lines strong enough to manage the increased demands for your products and/or services?

Consider hiring temporary staff to manage through a growth spurt. You don’t want to scramble for talent when the pressure is on.

Economic Downturns

Economic downturns are going to be a certainty, but preparing your business for that eventuality is always a good idea.

Keeping a lid on expenses is one way to prepare your business for tough times. Ask any business owner who survived the recession: Careful spending is now the order of the day. Whether it’s real estate or paper clips, keep your pencil sharp with the help of capable financial experts and business advisors.

One way to prepare your business for 2018 is to hire QORVAL to objectively evaluate your enterprise, offering up a dose of what we call “Objective Perspective.” QORVAL’s experienced management team can help you identify deficiencies in your business that you may have overlooked but could be critical during a downturn.