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
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
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.
6. Visit Your Customers
Show up at their office with a small gift. Ask them to show you around. Have a great conversation about their business and their plans.
They’ll be unbelievably thankful you spent time with them – and you build a great rapport that you can lean on in the future.
Remember: each shirt, trophy, sign, and
7. Go to a Trade Show
There are incredible tradeshows for our industry throughout the year and across the country.
These are high-value events that will give you access to far more resources than any other source. The shows you should consider attending include:
Take the time to visit one.
The network gained, relationships built, and knowledge learned will be worth the time and money. Make this outing an annual event, and bring your star players from the shop. I would love to meet you there.
8. Try New Sales Channels
The world of marketing is changing.
You’re able to tap into customers worldwide in 15 minutes. You can measure everything from detailed conversion rates to where people get bored and leave your site. It’s almost overwhelming, but it’s a truly powerful opportunity.
Keep it simple – try one thing at a time, with the goal that you’ll learn something new each day.
Develop your website’s funnel to handle inbound leads. Your acquisition funnel might look something like:
- Audience-Specific Landing Page: Target the keywords they’re searching for
- Call to Action: For example, submit a simple contact form
- Sales Rep Phone Call: Make contact and offer clear next steps
Drive sales through this funnel by utilizing any number of channels: AdRoll (retargeting), LinkedIn Messaging, open houses at your shop, booths at community events, small business committees, Facebook ads, and even Instagram!
Pick your battle and start fighting it.
Best of luck in 2019 – and let’s all grow together!
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