Small Business Top Goal: The Eight Most Important Review Questions for 2021

Are you happy with your business this year? What are you going to do differently? How can you hire the right people to support your vision? Unfortunately, many small business owners don’t spend enough time planning for the future. It is quite understandable. Managers must keep up with the daily demands of their businesses, including payroll, taxes, product/service delivery, and customer expectations.

Fortunately, the end of the year is the perfect time for a comprehensive evaluation of your company. Your business needs a checkup. Most people can relate to a check-up with their local doctor, based on their background and personality characteristics (age, gender, family medical history). The doctor will perform a variety of tests, including blood, vision, heart, and hearing.

In fact, an element such as a person’s weight is not the only indicator of general good health. Likewise, small businesses could also benefit from a good health check. Successful entrepreneurs think strategically when engaging in a hostile global environment.

After 27 years of managing projects and conducting over 100 organizational assessments of commercial organizations, I realize that both large and small organizations struggle to implement their operations effectively. This article examines how small businesses should conduct an effective health check of their organizations.

Welcome to the New Normal! However, almost a year into this pandemic, the full impact on the US economy is unclear. According to recent studies, more than four million Americans have left the workforce and nearly 10 million are now unemployed compared to last February.

In fact, the number of unemployed continues to rise. According to a business study conducted between March 28 and April 4, 2020, small businesses have been severely damaged by closures due to COVID-19.

In an analysis of more than 5,800 small businesses (reaching a network of 4.6 million small businesses), the research highlighted the damage caused by the pandemic. The results showed evident damage from the pandemic. At this time, 43% of businesses had temporarily closed and almost all of these closures were due to COVID-19.

Respondents stated that they had temporarily closed, largely pointing to reductions in demand and employee health concerns as the reasons for the closure. In fact, companies, on average, reported having reduced their active employment by 39% since January.

All industries have been affected. However, retail, arts and entertainment, personal services, food service and hospitality businesses all showed significant declines in employment exceeding 50%. Some companies expect help from the government.

According to a Babson Goldman Sachs report, 88% of US small business owners have already exhausted their Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan; The Small Business Association made these loans specifically to help businesses keep their workforce employed during the pandemic. These loans came in handy.

However, these successes do not diminish the fact that more than 32% of PPP loan recipients have already laid off employees or cut wages. In fact, forty-three percent of Black small business owners reported that their business cash reserves would be depleted by the end of the year due to Covid-19.

Small businesses and entrepreneurs today must restructure, given the potential impacts of Covid-19, they have the ability to change their mindset because of their passion. However, small businesses must be willing to evaluate their current operations and make any necessary changes.

For example, customers have largely gone online to purchase services due to lockdowns. If a business doesn’t have an online presence now, this business doesn’t exist. Internet pioneer and CEO of PSINet, Bill Schrader, explains the importance of online visibility: “Almost overnight, the Internet went from being a technical marvel to a business necessity.” Therefore, the correct check is essential.

Here are some critical questions to help you do your own self-monitoring:

1. Do you have a clear vision for your business? What is it?
2. Do you know why your customers buy from you and why others don’t buy from you?
3. What results are you getting from your marketing? Do you have an effective online presence on the web?
4. Are you collecting data or the right kind of data about your customers and competitors?
5. Are you keeping up with the trends in your industry? If so, what are the key trends?
6. How are you measuring results (ie, key performance indicators like cash flow and revenue)?
7. What are the marketing strategies of your main competitors?
8. Have you assessed your strengths and weaknesses (ie SWOT analysis)?

In short, successful global companies like IBM and Google have ongoing systems for evaluating their performance. Let’s call this process an organizational check.

Small businesses that want to succeed in this global and technological climate should be able to complete this self-assessment or review. This article demonstrated the relevance of a good screening to help improve a business by asking probing questions. In many cases, small businesses do not have to assume this organizational control.

There are various organizations such as the Small Business Administration and local universities that can assist in this process. Have you done a health check for your business this year? It’s not too late. Start the new year with a healthy business checkup.

© 2021 by DD Green