A new year means new goals for your business. While the goals may be obvious (increase revenue, greater customer satisfaction, etc.), how to achieve them may be a bit harder to nail down.

Here are 4 less things to consider that can have a major impact on your ability to put 2018 in the “Win” column.

  1. Mitigate Risk
    Businesses that have true longevity aren’t the ones that only show growth from year to year. Companies that survive challenging times are the ones who are prepared to weather out the storm.

    Ask yourself these questions:
    A) Do I have the right insurance coverages?
    B) Do I have too much coverage, or not enough?
    C) Is my data, and that of my customers, secure from cyber-attacks?
    D) Have I backed up my data somewhere that I can recover it in case of a system failure at my business?
    E) When was the last time I gave any of these questions serious thought?

    Regular risk assessments can be key to protecting small businesses from the ups and downs that happen regularly in the economy. Newtek can help you evaluate your current strategy and suggest adjustments that will help protect what you have worked so hard to build.

  2. Bring Your Website into the Modern Age
    As more and more consumers move toward interacting and purchasing on-line, having a professional looking website and an effective ecommerce infrastructure are vital for your success. Your website should be clear about what your business is as soon as people land there. It should also be easy for consumers to navigate.

    Attention spans are getting shorter, so chances are the moment a visitor to your site feels confusion or difficulty finding what they are looking for, they will move on to the next option. Pro tip: Just because it makes sense to you doesn’t mean it will make sense to the average Joe or Joan. Always keep the user experience top of mind when updating your website.

    Once you have your website ready, you need to make sure people can find it. The right SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategy makes all the difference in the world. Make sure the title, headers, descriptions, tags, and URLs all contain the words people are searching to find the services you offer.

    Effective ecommerce includes having a reliable web host, optimizing your site for mobile users, disaster recovery features to ensure your site doesn’t go offline at critical times — including during the holiday season, and effective security so your customers will trust your business with their personal data.

    Need help upgrading your website’s ecommerce infrastructure? Newtek offers solutions that cover every aspect, from payments, to web development, to disaster recovery.

  3. Refinance Expensive Debt
    If your business is carrying expensive debt, such high interest revolving credit or a bank loan with a double-digit interest rate, refinancing your expensive debt can be an effective way to free up cash flow, which can help you make important investments and grow your business. By the way, Newtek has helped many businesses consolidate expensive debt with term loans that feature single-digit interest rates and amortization schedules that run as long as 10 to 25 years.
  4. Embrace Social Media the Right Way
    When many small businesses think of social media, they assume that their young employee or relative with a Snapchat account can do it and *poof* magic will happen. What usually results in these cases is a social media presence that is unfocused and confusing to consumers. This leads to very little revenue generated from social media and the assumption that it doesn’t work. Like any other type of marketing, social media requires a strategy. You need to know who you want to target, which platform(s) they are on (Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, etc.) what the best times to reach them are, and what kind of posts resonate most with them. This all takes time to figure out, but the rewards will be worth the investment.