2018 has been wrapped up. I hope it was a solid year of growth and development for your business.
As the new year begins, it's great to list your goals for 2019. Big changes start with small steps.
I've seen great ideas floating around our community. So I created a list of 8 potential ideas you can use to craft your own resolutions.
1. Raise Prices
As business owners, we undervalue what we offer. It's natural to think that our customers won't pay our asking price, so we undercut ourselves by charging less than the value we're actually providing.
Plenty of new print shops do this to get more business out of the gate. But pricing much too low is dangerous to the industry as a whole – and doesn't accurately reflect your long-term value.
Instead of a race to the bottom, let's race to the top.
Shoot to increase your prices by 10-15%.
If you provide enough value, you'll be surprised what people are willing to pay for your services. Price for what your market and your customers will bear!
2. Delegate
You started the business, but your real goal should be staying at the top of your business.
Focus on finding ways to extract yourself out of the minutae of the business.
Taking a week off can be a great source of insight. Do your training, daily systems, and production processes continue to work very similarly – as if you were there? How connected is your presence to the everyday operation of your shop?
If production suffers when you're not there, it's time to dive back in and create better systems that your employees can easily repeat on a day-to-day basis.
3. Pay Yourself
To create a sustainable business, you need to take a fair salary.
Shops of all sizes skip owner payroll to make ends meet – especially during slow periods. This isn't a sustainable business. You will come to resent how hard you are working for little or no reward (it's only natural).
Get to a point where cutting your own salary doesn't have to happen.
I recommend that you read Profit First by Mike Michalowicz to help you execute a plan for putting profitability and your business' wellbeing first.
4. Fire Non-Performers
If you have an employee that doesn't follow protocol, is absent, or is just a poor cultural fit – it's okay to move on. Give them ample opportunity to improve, but understand that you must eventually cut your losses.
Clean out the employees holding your company back. Keep building your best superstar team.
Stop giving and granting excuses. I guarantee you'll wish you did it sooner.
5. Operations Manager
Day-to-day operations are where far too many shop owners get totally swamped.
Hiring an operations manager takes menial tasks off your hands. It forces you to delegate – and gives you the time and energy to make better decisions.
Imagine a day where the tasks you set out to complete actually get done in an 8 hour period. Then find the operations manager that can facilitate this. Sounds exciting, doesn't it?
You may have to keep pushing until you can reach $2-3M in revenue profitably, but that's okay.
Keep an eye out for a great operations manager early and often. This person will become someone you can rely on when you're not at the shop – and they may already be on your team.
Learn more:
https://www.printavo.com/blog/8-ideas-for-2019-resolutions-in-your-shop
