Giles Cadman 
What are your new year's resolutions? You've probably made a resolution regarding personal fitness or building interpersonal relationships "“ but why not make a resolution to make 2017 your best year in business yet?
There are certain tasks I will complete before year's end to make sure the businesses are on track for the upcoming year.
These tasks can be applied to many businesses, regardless of the industry. Follow these 3 tips to make 2017 your year of business growth.
Conduct an audit and evaluate your business model
I conduct an audit at the end of each year to make sure we properly understand what needs to be done to be successful in the coming year.
We take an in-depth look at the books and crunch numbers. We determine our exact number of staff, and what our sales target needs to be in order to make more profit than the previous year.
At this time, it's also important to evaluate your business model and make any tweaks to adapt to the market. If your business model is off, and you're doing the wrong thing very well "“ your business will die much faster than if you're doing the right thing the wrong way!
Make a commitment to your marketing budget
Next, it's important to revaluate your marketing and what you're willing to spend for this budget. If you've made more revenue this year, then you must match this increase in your marketing budget in 2017.
A general rule of thumb is to spend between 8-15% of your annual earnings on marketing. In order to see more growth, you need to invest a small percentage to achieve your goals.
Create deadlines you can stick to
I plan three trips throughout the year, one every 4 months. This creates 3 natural deadlines to complete major projects by.
Related: Why you should consider taking a sustainable vacation.
Having a trip coming up is an easy way to stick to deadlines. The last thing you want to worry about when going away is a project that wasn't wrapped up before it's time to set off!
These are my top 3 pieces of advice for anyone looking to jump-start their business. Is there anything you'd recommend? Comment and let me know. I wish you a prosperous and healthy 2017!
Giles Cadman is Chairman of The Cadman Capital Group, a group of cohesive, complementary companies, operating in the international trade, retail, leisure, and investment markets. Learn more about Giles.
