For many business owners, the end of April signifies the end of their financial year. If this applies to you, although there may be a rush to get new contracts over the line or use up your remaining budget, don’t forget there is also a window of time following year-end, where things may feel a little calmer. This is an ideal time to take stock, check in with how your business is really performing and look ahead to the future. I often recommend to my clients that this is an ideal time to do a business audit. This is not an exhaustive list, but here are a few important questions I would highly recommend reflecting on:
Financials:
- How did your overall financial performance compare to your budget and forecasts?
- What were your key revenue drivers and costs – were they what you expected, or something else?
- What were your profitability and margins like – was this better or worse than previous years?
- What was your cash flow like and were there any sticky points throughout the year?
- What were your most profitable products and/or services – and do you know why?
Sales:
- How did you fare against your sales targets – and which were the best customer acquisition channels?
- How satisfied are your customers? What feedback have you had?
- How strong is your sales pipeline looking for the next financial year?
Operations & Team:
- Are your operations running smoothly, or are there any areas you can look to improve efficiency and reduce costs?
- Are your supply chains reliable and cost-effective? Do they need reassessing in light of your financial performance?
- Is your current technology infrastructure meeting your needs?
- What were the main successes and challenges for your team?
- Do you have the right people in the right roles?
Strategy & Planning:
- What progress did you make against your overall business goals?
- Do you need to adjust our strategy based on your financial results and any changes in the market?
- What risks did you face and how effectively did you mitigate for them?
- Are there any emerging risks you need to plan for in the coming year and what contingency plans might you need?
- What are the potential growth areas for your business in the coming year?
- What are the main learnings you are taking from the past financial year (both successes and failures)?
- Are there any upcoming changes in legislation that will impact your business?
Premises:
- How is your current workspace serving you?
- What is your premises delivering to your bottom line?
- When is your next rent review and is it something you need to plan for? Have you double-checked the date by which you must have served the break notice?
- Do you need to relocate your business premises to allow for future growth? If so, do you have a break clause and when is it?
By making the time to take a step back and ask yourself these questions, you are able to take a logical, rational, comprehensive view of how your business has performed. From this you can easily identify any areas for improvement, mitigate future risk and develop a plan for the coming year and beyond to set your business up for success.
Need some help?
Currently weighing up which commercial premises is best for you and your business needs? It might be time to #TalkToJim, as my network would say! Click below to book in a free mentoring call and I can help you find the right solution for you and your business, now and in the future.
