Future-proofing is often defined as ‘the process of anticipating the future and developing methods of minimising the effects of shocks and stresses of future events.’
It can be tough to prepare for the future but it could be far tougher not to. Here are a three key points that will help you future proof your business.
- Adapt and thrive
Not only is adaptation investigating new sectors of opportunity but also motivating existing employees by allowing them to learn the necessary skills to be able to progress and succeed in new challenges. For example, if a debt solution had been identified as an opportunity for your business, then an employee looking for change or advancement may embrace and learn more on lending. Allowing talented individuals to learn new skills will enrich their role and, at the same time, increase the business’ productivity and performance.
- Keeping up with trends
Your most successful service from last year may not do as well this year. To plan for the unexpected it can be beneficial to review your company goals to ensure they are likely to continue to meet current trends. If you notice a trend that has become recently popular, consider shifting some of your focus to accommodate the trend. With the property market continuing to strengthen, is lending an opportunity? If it is and you don’t have resources / people within your business to incorporate lending, then look at options and consider a professional referral partner for the service as an alternative.
Just remember, one point of focus may work in the short term but doesn’t necessarily work in the long term.
- If a strategy no longer works – review it
If you find that the margin has decreased dramatically on a service you are offering, consider value adds to top it up. When repeating the same tasks, if you expect results to be different, it just isn’t going to happen. If something isn’t working sometimes it is just more practical not to put any more resources into it.
Steve Jobs once quoted “Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do”. There are no truer words when considering the future of your business.
So now I ask you, are you preparing for your future?
Tanya Sale is the chief executive of outsource financial. The group works in partnership with legal firms, financial planners, accountants, licensed conveyance’s and other professional service groups who want to offer their clients a simple and cost-effective range of lending, leasing and asset finance.
