Can your firm accomplish 3 goals in 2017?

Now that all the new year hub-bub is over and the holidays are in the books, it’s time to buckle down and get to work. From my experience, strategic planning for funeral homes and cemeteries generally boiled down to; do more service calls than last year. This is certainly a worthy notion, however more calls do not translate into financial health.

I am going to recommend 3 simple goals to accomplish in 2017 that are attainable:

1. Get a “financial physical” for your business.  The majority of us visit a doctor annually for a physical, however few business owners conduct a business physical annually, if ever.  The analogy rings true because your business can have serious financial problems that do not manifest or surface, but lurk underneath.  Ask yourself a question:  do you know someone that rarely went to the doctor and then found out that they had an  advanced disease that could not be treated?  Get yourself a Strategic Business Analysis.
2. Once your Strategic Business Analysis (physical) is complete, more than likely you are going to need some type of “treatment.”  Once again using the physical analogy, if the doctor prescribes medicine, therapy, or behavioral modifications (diet) in most cases you will follow their instructions and report results regularly.  Another “ask yourself:” when was the last time your accountant compared your P&L with your GPL?  If you needed treatment for a disease, are you going to the local family practitioner or a specialist?  Perhaps it’s time to consider changing your Accounting to specialists that know the difference between a rough box and an alternative container.  Get yourself a trusted advisor that knows your business Accounting.
3. The largest expense for most businesses is employees.  This also tops the list for the highest probability of mistakes; Human Resources.  Ask yourself a question: when was the last update and review of your employee manual as well as policy/procedures?  Or, do you even have either or both.  It’s time for a Human Resources review.

Three simple but monumental goals for 2017; get a Strategic Business Analysis, review your Accounting relationship, and review your Human Resources posture.  All three are easily attained by reaching out to us at The Foresight Companies.  It’s time for Foresight.