Meet Your Goals During a Global Slowdown
Optimism among business owners was high coming into 2022. But a number of factors are now making things a lot more challenging to meet business goals:
- Global events are pushing up energy prices to astronomical levels.
- Ongoing supply-chain issues are making it difficult to source raw materials.
- Talent scarcity is causing problems when it comes to staffing and hiring.
- Covid is still around and making trading more complex and challenging.
Faced with these hurdles, you might feel that your goals are no longer attainable. But is this true? Growth is likely to be a challenge but not impossible.
Five steps to meet your goals during a slowdown
Moving forward during a period of economic recession is undoubtedly more of a challenge. But what’s needed is an updated plan with awareness of the significant external threats.
Here are five steps to set you on the right path:
- Revisit your goals and see how realistic they are – look at the numbers and make a call on whether they still make sense in the current business market. If necessary, update your goals and make them challenging. But, importantly, make any goals attainable during a time when cash and resources are in short supply.
- Get the best possible understanding of your financial position – take a deep dive into your finances and see how you’re tracking against your budgets and targets. How is your cash flow looking? Do you have enough working capital to fund your growth? If additional funding is needed, where could it come from?
- Decide if you have the right team for the job – Whatever your key goals, you need talented people on board who share your core aims for the business. Consider whether you have the team you need or if there’s a pressing need to hire new people. And consider if artificial intelligence (AI) and automation could fill some of the resourcing gaps and help you scale up.
- Assess the current situation in your sector – You can’t change the big external threats in your industry. But you can do your homework and find out the immediate threats. Are there supply chain issues? Are prices going sky-high? Get up to speed, look for ways to minimise the impact, and rise to the top of the crop.
- Update your plan – once you’ve reviewed your numbers, goals, and strategy, you will likely need an updated business plan. Factor in the threats and set meaningful goals, but give your company a realistic target during a global slowdown. Successful small steps towards a goal are better than one giant leap; a leap where you may land flat on your face.
Talk to us about your goal-setting for this year and beyond
The sooner you start revisiting your goals and business plan, the better your company will be prepared for the ups and downs of a recession. Talk to us about your financial position, core strategy, and concerns for the next six to twelve months.
We’ll help you set practical, attainable goals to push your business forward.