Five New Years resolutions that can supercharge your small business
Two Franks co-owner Chryssie Swarbrick shares five New Year resolutions that can help align your business goals.
Being asked what your New Year’s resolutions are is classic January chatter. This year, I’m still ruminating over my personal resolutions – do I want to focus on improving a certain trait, gaining a new skill, or getting rid of an unhealthy addiction?
While I considered my options, I decided it would be prudent to also come up with a list of business resolutions – aspects of myself that I can improve that will hopefully have a flow-on effect to buoy my business too.
Your resolutions should match your business goals, and for me, this year, I’m aiming to become a better boss and business owner.
1. Set aside time for emotional reflection
My first goal is to set aside 15 – 20 minutes each week to reflect on my interactions with employees and customers. How did my emotions influence my choices and actions at the time?
I’m human, and sometimes my emotions get the better of me. Keeping a leadership journal to track these insights can help you reflect and recognise patterns in your behaviour.
Why is this important? Taking ownership of your leadership behaviour and understanding how you can do better next time is integral to being a better leader and co-worker.
2. Connect with other business owners I admire
Create a crew of personal advisors by setting up regular meetings with fellow business owners – focus on those you admire, who share the same business values as you, and are achieving what you hope to achieve with your own business.
Pick their brains for tips on how you can improve and ask for advice if they have knowledge on topics you’re struggling with.
Use this time to also share challenges and commiserate about failures. Running a small business can be lonely, and having a support network outside your friends and family that understands what you’re going through can help you weather the storms.
3. Reinforce work-life boundaries
Our business is open 7 days a week, so the boundaries between work and leisure are often blurred. This year, I want to set an example by sticking to specific “off-hours” outside of our scheduled work hours.
During this time I want to minimise communication with the team, setting a positive example that we can all have time to switch off between shifts.
Setting the standard will also encourage the team to minimise reaching out to us during off-hours, creating a workplace culture with a better work-life balance for all.
4. Be more transparent with the team
Being more open about our business and how it is doing, our financial challenges and our attempts to minimise waste can be empowering.
Instead of keeping all our cards close to our chest, being open can shape staff to see your challenges more clearly. It makes your team feel more involved and invested, and more likely to help you succeed.
Small changes to a team’s habits and behaviour can have huge business bonuses by improving efficiency and minimising wasted time or supplies.
5. Practice strategic patience
Work on managing the impulse to jump in and fix problems immediately.
Instead, challenge yourself to pause and ask your team, “What do you think we should do?”. This helps develop their problem-solving abilities and shows you trust their judgment.
An old boss of mine used to say, “Don’t come to me with a problem, come to me with three possible solutions first”.
Teach your team to not just recognise an issue, but take ownership and consider how to solve problems too.
It can be such a reflex to solve the issue yourself – you have the knowledge and the speed to resolve problems quickly – but by doing this you can be stunting the growth of your team and shackling yourself to be overly relied upon.
While it can be difficult to stick to resolutions beyond a handful of weeks, these habits are worth revisiting over the months ahead.
Not only will they help you better your leadership style, they’ll make for a happier team and from there, a better business by the time the end of the year rolls around.
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