The New Year brings a renewed drive to start fresh, take things a step higher or implement changes, and small and medium enterprises (SME) are no exception. For business owners, there’s no better time than now to evaluate the year that was and formulate a plan for growth.

Any business should have a well thought out plan before its products or services go on the market, especially if it intends to launch new ones or improve its current offerings. By drawing up the strategy for the year, the SME is off to a right start and increases its potential to grow.

These plans come with new goals. Envision one’s business after a year or so and decide where it should go. In working out these goals, consider what didn’t work and the company’s successes the previous year. A closer look at the strengths and weaknesses in execution, processes, management, etc. can yield valuable inputs.

Experience is the best teacher.

At the minimum, last year’s mistakes should be avoided and targets for improvement must be set. Targets should be clear and quantifiable to make them easy to evaluate by the end of the period. For sure, the business owner would be eager to know if the goals were met or the company is on track.

Stay focused on the key business objectives so don’t create too many goals. A tip in goal-setting is to draft realistic targets that are doable within a predetermined time frame.

An entrepreneur who writes down his targets, no matter how ambitious or modest, is on his way to achieving them. People are more likely to commit to their goals if they put these in writing.

Be it global expansion, customer service training for employees, cost reduction, improving cash flow, payroll automation or others, reminding employees of these goals throughout the year will also help everyone stick to them.

Besides posting the targets in the office or mentioning them during town hall meetings, regular team meetings can also ensure everyone is aligned towards the goals and stays on track. Of course, when targets are reached a little celebration or incentive is in order to keep employees motivated.

In sum, the New Year presents an opportunity to refine the business plan and outline new targets, which can primarily stem from last year’s hits and misses. SMEs that find it hard to grow could be facing internal issues that could have been prevented with proper planning.

The plan, with its corresponding goals, will not only keep the business running and help it survive another year, but will also let it thrive in a competitive market.