Running a small business involves a plethora of moving parts. Keeping up with all those moving parts can be daunting – unless you have a plan. A small business checkup can be as simple or as complex as you make it. When you’re the chief cook and bottle washer in your small business, you need to keep an eye on things and be sure your business is moving in the right direction, reaching the right market share, and ringing up sales.
Don’t make your quarterly checkup unnecessarily complex. Doing so will almost guarantee you repeatedly put it off. Try creating a simple checklist and making sure each item on the list is completed each quarter. A quarterly checkup is a great way to keep things running smoothly without overwhelming yourself or overextending your time. Here’s a suggested six-question checklist for performing a simple small business checkup:
- Are all my social media profiles cohesive?
Your social media profiles don’t need to be identical, but they do need to be easily relatable to your brand and contain your logo to increase consumer recognition of your business. - What are my goals for the upcoming quarter?
Make realistic, specific goals (like increase quarterly revenue by $15,000) as opposed to vague goals (like making more money). - What were this quarter’s best-selling products or services?
Knowing which products to keep, which to improve, and which to back burner or eliminate helps your business keep creating and developing the products and services that pique the interest of your ideal consumer. - Is my target market the same?
As you introduce new products and services, your ideal consumer/target market may change. Knowing who your target market is and how they grow, evolve, and change is the key to focused, targeted, successful marketing. - Which marketing methods brought in the most sales this quarter?
Marketing metrics is huge for small business owners. Knowing which marketing tactics your ideal consumers respond to guides your future marketing efforts and saves time and money by not continuing to use marketing methods that aren’t yielding a solid return. - Do my finances add up?
If your books are unbalanced, you need to know sooner than later. This is an important checkpoint. You absolutely must ask yourself this question every single time you perform a small business checkup. Period.
Whoever said failing to plan is planning to fail was absolutely right. Creating bench marks and check points for your business helps in every area – Answering these six questions honestly will help your business grow and make your annual checkup much easier.