Does Your Business Need an Annual Checkup?
Every smart business owner understands the need for a periodic analysis of the company’s business practices. Conducting an annual checkup ensures your business will remain healthy, run smoothly and perform efficiently throughout the year.
When executed properly, reviewing the various aspects of your operation once a year can help maintain a low-stress environment for employees, while continuing to give customers the high quality products and services to which they are accustomed.
Here are three of the most important factors to include in your yearly business review.
- Evaluate your business plan’s tax and insurance information. Reviewing your business plan’s tax and insurance information is important when managing your business’ finances. It provides you with the opportunity to compare last year’s financial investments to this year’s costs. Ask yourself:
- Does what you paid the previous year in taxes and business insurance reflect a negative impact on your profit margins? If this is the case, you may want to consider consulting an insurance agent to help you reevaluate your coverage and perhaps even find more affordable business insurance.
- Have there been any changes in the tax code that would benefit your company’s financial well-being? Saving money on taxes can allow you to make other adjustments to your competitive plan, perhaps by allocating more for marketing or advertising.
- Touch base with your customers. Maintaining healthy relationships with customers plays a large role in the success of a company. How often do you contact your customers? Customer satisfaction generates more production, whether it be by word of mouth or repeat business.Customer surveys (sent via email or standard mail) represent a fairly accurate way to gauge satisfaction levels. Input from previous or current customers will help you visualize which practices work and which practices need improvement. Multiple choice questions are straightforward and quick to count, but open-ended questions are also helpful. Open-ended questions allow customers to provide suggestions and feedback on how your business is viewed by the public, which also demonstrates how strongly customers believe you value their business.
- Perform employee evaluations. How are your employees performing in the workplace? Are you utilizing their individual skills to enhance their experience while improving your business? Part of your annual business checkup should include analyses of how your employees are influencing the well-being of your company and, in turn, ways in which you can reward those demonstrating top quality performance and improve those whose contributions may be on the lower end of the spectrum.
Giving your LLC or Corporation a yearly checkup is one of the most beneficial habits you can initiate. Not sure where to start? Contact Advantage Delaware, and we will gladly guide you through the process or provide you with a referral expert whom we believe may better suit your needs. No matter what, we are here to help.
