The beginning of January is ripe with new possibilities. “New Year’s resolution” season is the perfect time for companies to reassess their business visions and set concrete goals for the upcoming year.
Not sure what resolutions you should make for your business this year? Below, 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council each shared one resolution they believe companies should set for 2022 and why.
Young Entrepreneur Council members think business owners should set these goals for 2022.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. Advance Your Online Presence
Going even more virtual than your business already is. One of the more exciting changes from the past couple of years is the amount of technology growth and innovation we’ve seen from so many unlikely companies and sectors. But the reality is that most businesses are just getting started. We’re in a revolution where more and more facets of life are going online, so any smart, future-forward business owner should be setting themselves up for success in the online space and making it easier and easier to sell their product or service to customers. If you don’t continue to invest and diversify your online presence, then you’ll get left behind. – Emily Stallings, Casely, Inc.
2. Provide Stronger Employee Incentives
Create at least one strong incentive for every employee to love your company. Most businesses depend on a mix of interesting work and good pay to retain talent, but in times of pandemic and record-high resignation rates, keeping every single individual counts. A great resolution for every business is ensuring that every single employee has at least one strong, unique reason to stick around. Consider building a better bond with individuals, formalizing a new perk that everyone cares about, incentivizing employees in working closely together or funding a charity everyone loves. Building the right community with a clear vision can serve as a detractor of recruiters and lucrative opportunities out there. – Mario Peshev, DevriX
3. Build A Better Growth Mindset
Every business owner should aim to be better every year. With a growth mindset, business owners can tackle the major challenges in their businesses that are preventing further growth. At any given point, no matter the stage of the business, there are plenty of processes that can be improved to further streamline a business and capitalize on its prospects. For example, building a predictable sales engine is the goal of countless businesses, yet it is also rarely achieved. By directing focused efforts toward building, measuring and improving upon a sales strategy, business owners can solve what is often a major challenge. Every business has different major hurdles that stand in the way. The resolution to solve these hurdles, rather than shrug them off, ultimately determines success. – Fehzan Ali, Adscend Media LLC
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4. Refine Your Brand From Every Angle
I believe all business leaders should commit to refining their brand from all angles at the start of each year. You’ll want to think about what you can do to improve your products, as well as the experience customers have when engaging with your brand. It’s also essential to think about what you can do to drive employee engagement and build on your brand values in the coming year. – John Brackett, Smash Balloon LLC
5. Make More Diverse Hiring Choices
One New Year’s resolution that all companies should have set for 2022 is to ensure that the new hires they plan on making are diverse. Businesses need to be proactive if they want to make DEI efforts meaningful. Now that so much of the world works remotely, hiring from a pool of candidates with disabilities or recruiting people from other locations is easier than ever. You can also work with agencies and consultancies to offer training to become more inclusive. – Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner
6. Foster A More Positive Work Environment
After such a challenging year (for multiple reasons), I would say we should all be focusing on creating a more positive work environment for all. That includes being open to and encouraging feedback from all employees, in addition to listening and responding to their needs. A happy team is a productive team. An overworked, miserable team gets you nothing but resignation letters. It may just surprise you how much productivity can be cultivated from positive motivation. I would encourage all businesses to take a closer look at what they can do to support their own team moving forward. You should also apply this newfound kindness to yourself too. It’s tough being in charge, and nothing will ever be perfect. Just remember to breathe! – Nick Venditti, StitchGolf
7. Prioritize Work-Life Balance
Work-life balance is the new way to go post-pandemic. Most people cannot imagine going back to pre-2019 days where we drive to work, sit at a desk for eight hours just to drive back home, eat dinner and do the same thing the next day. There is a trend where people who are asked to go back to the office are now looking for new jobs and careers because the past 18 months have been spent creating sanctuaries in our homes. Business owners should put people before profits because the profits will come organically when you have a strong team that likes who they work for and the values your company stands for versus feeling like a workhorse in a factory. Times are changing, and integrity is everything. – Givelle Lamano, Lamano Law Office
8. Develop A More Compassionate Approach
The past two years have witnessed so many changes that have altered businesses and lives across the board. We are going into hybrid work models, we have lost and regained child care, there have been personal traumas and much more. Have compassion in 2022 for everyone you encounter. Even though we are heading into a new period of “normalcy,” supply chain shortages will likely continue, we will have more news of variants and we should practice more compassion throughout what will come to make this time easier and more productive. Some ways of communicating and working are outdated, and a strong, impersonal approach is one of them. – Matthew Capala, Alphametic
9. Create A Clearer Sense Of Direction
Business owners should start the year by establishing clear goals for themselves and their brand. If you don’t have a clear sense of direction, you may find yourself falling off track as the year progresses. The key to perfecting this strategy is to revisit your goals every month. When you can see the progress you’re making toward your goals, it’s easier to make adjustments and work with team members to turn your vision into a reality. – Chris Christoff, MonsterInsights
10. Listen Closely To Customers
I think that more businesses need to set the goal to listen to customers more closely in 2022. This means taking several practical steps like creating and sending surveys, creating feedback forms and regularly responding to customers. People often share their feedback via reviews, emails and direct calls, but it’s rare for such information to flow to the top of the organization. You need to commit to hearing what your customers say and to respect what they’re saying too, even if it’s not complimentary. It’s only when you understand how customers think and feel that you stand a chance and create a product they’ll love. – Blair Williams, MemberPress
