As we acclimate to a new year, you are probably thinking of all the ways you want to improve your company’s operations and grow your overall business success. Now is a great time to review standard operation plans and evaluate your project management initiatives, customer retention strategy, and HR processes. However, there are so many other ways to take your business to new heights this year and beyond.
In my experience of launching the Live Lingua online language school and other 6-and 7-figure businesses on a bootstrap budget, I’ve learned a thing or two about innovative and unique ways to make a business more successful. Here are just a few of my tried-and-true tips that will help you make 2022 your company’s biggest year yet.
Learn new skills and software to reduce costs
As a business owner, do you have to constantly update your company website and add new product listings, testimonials, pages, and other functions? Are you thinking of redesigning your website? All of the associated web design and development costs could drain your budget.
That said, you can significantly lower the cost of website development by learning how to use basic wireframing software. There are a number of affordable options to choose from online these days that require zero programming knowledge.
By creating a wireframe of your concept and code, you can share much clearer instructions to any programmer you hire on what the finished product should look like. Even better, you can save money on hiring programmers since you can work with less experienced developers who just have to build what you show them (as opposed to them having to figure it all out themselves). I have been a programmer for 20 years and a business owner for over 14 years, and this approach has saved me a lot of time and money.
Prepare for a future crisis by using geo-arbitrage
Is your business prepared for any and all worst-case scenarios? That said, if not, prepare for any future crisis by using geo-arbitrage. The days when having staff, resources, and tools based in other countries was only pursued by large multinationals are behind us.
No matter the size of your business, it is now possible to affordably build systems that leverage people and tools all over the world. This not only has the potential for operational cost savings, but it can help you diversify different parts of your business to ensure a bulkhead against future crises, no matter what or where they may be.
To find new employees from all over the world, check out freelancer websites like UpWork and Fiverr. You can hire a fantastic virtual assistant, content writers for your website and company blog, SEO specialists, a public relations expert, social media marketing gurus, data entry specialists, and so many other people from all over the world to help your business grow. You can also join online entrepreneur groups that will give you the opportunity to meet other business owners and specialists from other countries.
Set your annual salary and stick to it
One of the biggest mistakes business owners make is not setting a yearly salary — they simply take all the profit and make that their salary. This means when the company is doing well, they have more money than they can need. However, the problem with this method, is that when the company is going through a rough period or when cash is needed for a large investment, the business does not always have the cash on hand. This can cause great financial hardship.
Therefore, set a designated salary for yourself and to stick to it. Anything else the business makes should stay in the company coffers. Then, if the coffers get too big, you can always pay yourself out in dividends. However, be disciplined and only do so once certain pre-set criteria are reached.
As the business owner, you need to do everything you can to stay on top of your company’s finances. Setting your salary will help you do just that.
Constantly A/B test marketing and sales tactics to increase conversions
If you want to maximize overall profits and grow your business, optimize your entire sales funnel and marketing strategy through regular A/B testing.
For example, test variables in your promotional emails (such as the copy style or call-to-action) and make necessary adjustments to future ones to see how you can increase click-through rates. Or, constantly change portions of your call center scripts to see if you can improve the conversion rate by even just a little bit.
Keep in mind that the quicker you conduct these A/B tests, the faster you will be able to determine which marketing and sales tactics work the best, and the more your business will thrive. Therefore, strive to A/B test faster than your competitors to stay ahead of them in the market. Schedule to do these tests on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis.
To wrap it all up
Are you ready to take your business to the next level this year? Sure! It is vital to analyze and enhance your employee retention plan and customer service processes, but there are so many other highly impactful ways to optimize your company.
One New Year’s resolution that all entrepreneurs should follow is to learn how to use basic wireframing software to reduce web development costs. Other resolutions can include preparation for future crises with geo-arbitrage, setting an annual salary and sticking to it, and constantly A/B testing marketing and sales tactics. Follow these resolutions and help your business thrive for years to come.
Ray Blakney is the CEO and co-founder of Live Lingua, a renowned online language learning platform. Live Lingua offers a unique and immersive approach to mastering a new language, as it pairs users with their own hand-picked, certified, native-speaking tutor for online teaching sessions. Live Lingua also produces the popular ‘Learn Spanish with Live Lingua’ podcast, a full Spanish learning course, built around real-world conversations, that is taught in short, 3-5-minute daily episodes.
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