Small business
owners nowadays must wear many hats, so here are some items to include in your
to-do list
Jul 2, 2019 @ 2:22 pm By Joni Youngwirth 
In the past, the
small business owner could get by without being an active CEO. But those days
are long gone!
Today, you must
wear many hats (or hire others to wear them) — including HR manager, marketer
and CFO — to keep your firm healthy and growing.
So where do you
start? Here are six best practices to help prioritize your mental checklist.
1. Written business
plan. A documented plan helps you step back and assess your business.
Keep in mind that your plan doesn't have to be fancy. It can be just a couple
of pages but should include the following:
• Company vision.
• Values.
• Strategic
directive citing significant factors that will affect the business over the
next three to five years.
• Three to seven
SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-based) goals for the
next year.
• An estimated
budget for accomplishing goals.
Putting the
document in writing is the first step. But it should be monitored and measured
throughout the year.
2. Healthy human
resources. Review your written job descriptions annually. They serve as the
basis for performance reviews, another annual must for each employee and
adviser. These two documents can go far in promoting healthy human resources practices.
Plus, they are the foundation for alignment of a firm's compensation system to
industry standards.
You'll also want to
think about professional development opportunities, and the importance of firm culture cannot be overestimated.
Stepping back to assess if your culture is helping or harming the business is
an ongoing responsibility of any business owner.
3. Operations
efficiency. Technology is key for promoting efficiency. But are you doing
all you can to leverage technology's advantages? Ensuring that you have
up-to-date and fully integrated technology, such as a CRM and investment
performance management, is critical. Further, your team needs written
procedures that are consistently followed.
The greatest technology
won't help a lousy time manager. The good news is that anyone can learn to
manage their time. It takes some commitment, but it's not rocket science.
Sometimes, a daily to-do list and a longer-term calendar are the only tools you
need.
4. Revenue growth. The trend line for the growth of your business provides a snapshot of where
you are in the life cycle: growth, maturity or decline. To review the vitality
of your business, look at the market-adjusted upward revenue trend.
Although most
advisers use assets under management as a key indicator of health, the number
of new ideal clients taken on in a year also has value. The revenue analysis,
combined with an expense analysis, leaves you with margin. If it's not
important to you, it should be.
5. Marketing. Many advisers say
they don't do marketing. But do you have a name for your company, a sign
or a website? You're "doing" marketing if you present yourself and
your firm to the public.
Some firms have a
robust schedule of events to attract prospects. Use every medium (website, social media, in-person
interactions) to tell your story to attract the clients you want. Upfront
strategic efforts can save time and money over the long term.
Remember, being
proficient at proactively asking for referrals from clients, centers of
influence and strategic alliances remains the cheapest and most effective way
to get new clients.
6. Risk management. It's surprising
that "planners" resist planning — especially that related to their
personal demise. Young advisers tend to put a continuity plan in place from the
get-go. But many advisers in our graying industry would rather abdicate
responsibility to the spouse after a sudden death, which means the practice
might falter while succession is sorted out.
In addition, having
adequate business insurance (slip and fall, key man and cyber liability) is
key. As a preventive measure, you should also pay attention to the proper
titling of your business.
Keep best practices
top of mind
My list is just a
brief overview of some best practices to keep on your annual checklist. If you
haven't done so already, be sure you start with a written business plan. From
there, tailor your next steps to specific goals and start monitoring what works
and what doesn't.
But for business
owners who must wear many hats, it's time to get started — or to take your best
practices to the next level.
Joni Youngwirth is
managing principal of practice management at Commonwealth
Financial Network.
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