By Chantell Barkum-Casey//
It’s that time of the year again! The new year brings a time for new beginnings, lifestyle changes, and if you’re like most Americans, a new start on health and fitness. However, as entrepreneurs, when thinking about health we rarely consider what it takes to keep a business fit. To help ensure longevity for your business, try these easy tips:
Pay attention to the symptoms
Constructing a simple SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) can help to identify weaknesses in your business. Pay attention to symptoms such as loss of sales, decrease in membership, decrease in website visitors, and increase of customer complaints or returns. Symptoms can help alert a business owner of a potential problem in the business.
Routine checkups
Conduct a routine checkup on your business. During checkups, you want to “check the temperature” of the business. This is an optimal time to solicit feedback on your business from the aspect of the customers and employees. What is the customer’s satisfaction rating? Are your employees satisfied with the current business procedures and direction of management?
Eliminate waste
This is the time to rid the business of toxics. Employees will low morale and poor performance can prove to be cancerous to your workforce and should be removed immediately. Replace those employees with individuals who support the mission and work towards the business’ strategic goals.
Stay active
Keeping your business active in the community and on social media networks will surely help increase the length of your business’s life cycle. Engage your audience on social media and maintain an active presence in communities.
Chantell Barkum-Casey, owner of ReVamp Marketing and Business Solutions, is an advocate for a healthy businesses along the Gulf Coast. She can be reached at (228) 860-0363.