Old year out and new one in. This is how it has always been for everyone, unsparing the business sector. Most of us might remember 2011 for the financial crisis more vividly than any other issue.
The year 2012 marks a new beginning for those willing to start anew filled with hope and enthusiasm and a heightened sense of expectation after all the lingering difficulties many businesses faced in 2011.
Expect that there is definitely much to do and accomplish this coming year. Whether you are finding new ways to grow a business, or struggling to maintain market share, or perhaps just fighting for survival, it would benefit you to recognize opportunities disguised as challenges, and work to achieve new heights in this new year, because nothing ever comes easy.
Manny García-Tuñón, the executive vice president of Lemartec, an international design-build firm headquartered in Miami listed some advice for any business person or company to be guided in the coming year:
• Develop a sense of urgency. If there’s anything that we should remember 2011 by, it’s what it has taught us — that no one is immune to the negative effects of the economy. Just about every industry across the board has been affected directly or indirectly. Yet any possible impact should help us realize that we must create a sense of urgency. This is not a drill. Learn from the past and prepare for what lies ahead.
• Develop a plan and rethink. Step 1 in plan development is understanding how good you are at rethinking your business. Rethink what? In a word, everything. Never mind that rethinking everything should always be standard operating procedure, but in an economic crisis it’s critical to your survival – not to mention your success. Develop strategies to build on your strengths and opportunities while reducing your weaknesses and threats.
• Know your competition. If you think you know your competition, think again. Desperate times call for desperate measures and some of your competitors may be fighting fiercely just to keep their doors open. That makes them particularly dangerous. Part of our difficult reality in 2011 was the resulting lower margins and restricted revenue sources in industries across the board. While many are hopeful that 2012 will usher in a more robust recovery, we can expect the year will commence with the same level of volatile competition. Be prepared.
• Diversify revenue sources. Consider that sources of revenue may remain relatively restricted in the first half of 2012. By diversifying revenue sources you help spread your base and offset the subsequent reduction in margins from an increasingly competitive market.
As we bid farewell to 2011 and welcome 2012, here’s wishing that your business will get its clean slate in this coming new year.