Corporate Vision January 2017

6 CORPORATE VISION / January 2017 NEWS , The infamous year 2016 is now behind us and we all have a fresh start moving into the new year - one which could perhaps be one of the most unpredictable since the market crash in 2008. Low confidence and an anxious ap- proach to ambition could stunt the growth of start-ups, so here are my key resolutions that small enterprises should adopt if they want to thrive in 2017. 1. Smarter marketing, not larger It’s good business sense to always look after the pennies, but with un- known economic territories ahead of us, it’s important for start-ups to tighten up the side of the business where thousands could be wast- ed when hundreds could take you further = marketing. Social media and SEO will be the most cost-ef- fective ways to drive brand aware- ness, so invest in consultants and training sessions to help you cover the basics that will ensure your business is heard in a world full of competitors. What’s most important for you to take note of in these workshops is the efficien- cy of micro-targeting – put spend purely into targeting where your audience digests content and news. Don’t look to reach large numbers, look to reach relevant numbers. 2. Inspiration comes from the workplace It might sound simple; it might sound unimportant - but neither is true. Your working environment plays a huge role on your energy, motivation and inspiration – three characteristics you’ll need in bundles to take a start-up off the ground. Walk into offices up and down the country and they can be flooded with unnecessary paper, overcrowded desks, folders upon folders and general mess. Take action and declutter your office by taking more of your work online – with the rise of cloud-based ser- vices such as Google Docs, shar- ing working documents has never been easier. What’s more, the cloud has been utilised across in- dustries, and some services even allow you to take your accounting spreadsheets and numbers pure- ly within the cloud. This takes me nicely onto… Six New Year Resolutions for a Smarter Start-up K By Gary Turner, UKMD and co-founder of Xero