Last week, someone emailed me at thomas.tpaul@gmail.com asking for advice on preparing for 2016 and the end of 2015. The combination of the holidays and the year ending is perfect for preparing for a new year AND remembering those who helped you and your business succeed. So, I have prepared my Six Things You Should Do over the next 50 days.
- Create a 2016 Budget or Plan
I’m amazed at how many companies still don’t do this. I don’t care if you are a sole proprietorship or a 250-person corporation, you need to put together a simple budget or plan. Make assumptions about your revenue growth and expenses for 2016 after reviewing what happened to the business in 2015, and you’ll have your budget and plan for the year. Make it a point to review and revise the plan at the end of each month. I promise you will feel better about your business.
- Hold an All Employee Meeting
Once you have your plan or budget put together, have an All Employee Meeting where you review the successes of 2015 and share the plan for 2016. Take the time to recognize key employees who went above and beyond. Make the meeting all about the employees. And at the end of the meeting, promise everyone that you won’t wait another 12 months to hold an All Employee Meeting!
- Send Small Gifts to Your Important Customers
I once owned a Cessna Airplane dealership called Trade Winds Aviation in San Jose, California. We sold new airplanes and serviced airplanes for airplane owners. Everyone who bought a new airplane during the year received a Trade Winds Aviation logoed jacket during the holiday with a personal note from me. Keep in mind that the average airplane cost $400,000 while the jackets cost me $75. It got to the point that when someone bought an airplane they would ask, “Does this mean I’ll get a jacket for Christmas?” That $75 bought me tons of loyalty and goodwill. Everyone who had their airplane serviced received a holiday card with a bag of nuts. Small gifts with handwritten notes go a long way.
- Send a Personal Note to Each Employee
A personal handwritten note is still one of the best gifts you can give. I made it a point to send personal cards to my employees on their birthday, the anniversary of their hire date and during Christmas. Those notes would always be pinned up in the employee’s offices or cubes. Take the opportunity to thank them for their dedication and contribution. Make sure you point to something they contributed themselves so that it is personalized.
- Plan a Company Holiday Party
Before you start whining about expense, let me clarify. I’ve always made it a point to have a holiday party at my home and invite each employee with a guest. I’d find a local restaurant that would cater the food and I served as the bartender. Your home is already decorated so it is easy to just add food and drinks to create a party that is fun and personal.
Employees want an opportunity to have their significant others meet the people they work with and I always used the time to tell my employees’ significant others what a great employee their wife/husband/boyfriend/girlfriend is.
- Make Time for Your Family
After you have taken time to plan for the business, thank your important customers and taken care of your employees, remember to take time for your family. We all dream of owning our own business and controlling our destiny, and we knew it would take long hours, drain our savings and require sacrifice. We went down this path knowing there would be sacrifices.
But our families had no say in the decision. It is our families that suffer when we cut vacations short (or didn’t even go on the family vacation), miss the baseball games or the father/daughter dances. So, take time during the next 50 days where you dedicate the time to your family. Without the support of our wives, husbands and children, we would never succeed or have the wonderful life of a business owner.
And finally, I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time over this past year to send me emails with questions or support. Best of luck to you as you finish up 2015 and prepare for 2016. FBN
T Paul Thomas teaches business and entrepreneurship at Northern Arizona University and serves as Chief Entrepreneur at the NACET Accelerator. Prior to joining NAU and NACET in 2013 Paul spent 25 years as a serial CEO and President. Paul can be reached at thomas.tpaul@gmail.com.