TUNING UP Stage

You completed numerous updates to your financial model and the goal is to make this a regular step in your operations. This model will only get more accurate as you include new data, correct old assumptions and refine your skill with interpreting the output. Again it's never a bad idea to ask for some outside perspective from your advisors or financial experts relating to how to handle new situations and to be prepared to maximize the value of each dollar earned.

As you approach closing out your first year in business, you have many loose ends to tie up and also positioning your business for the year ahead. Don't wait until December 31st to begin this process. Often it begins at the start of Q4 on the calendar year. You'll need to look at nearly all aspects of your business from the financials, staffing, sales, marketing, internal operations, technology, partners, etc. A reasonable guide is looking at your business plan, marketing plans and other learnings from your weekly retrospectives. Year-end is less about being DONE and more about being ready for what is next. However, there are bookkeeping, accounting, state and federal reporting tasks that may need to be fully executed before the calendar year changes.

Your business has by now done several iterations of reporting to your state and federal agencies. Make sure you stay on top of that or that your service provider is. If you have grants, loans or investors they may also require periodic status reports. Do not fall behind and seek help if you are having trouble with managing day-to-day operations and these other 'back office' obligations.

Revisit your monthly process of reconciliation of all outstanding bills, bank statements and collecting revenue from your customer or partners if any is due. Your bookkeeper will likely be able to help in this process, but do not let this go because it's sailing in a leaky boat, it will slow you down or worse sink you! It's never too late to ask your suppliers and service providers if they offer discounts for bundling, early payment or other incentives. In addition, you can always offer your customers similar incentives for early payment.

Going back to early assumptions may seem like a waste of time but it can be extremely valuable towards providing new insights. At minimum you'll see how far you've come as an entrepreneur. Using all the data and experience you've gained over the past months, what do you still need to learn about your customer, why they buy, how they buy, how they learn about your service, what motivates them to convert, why they return or not, how you can better serve them post sale, etc. There will always be more to learn as you refine your operations.

Making it this far, you've been selling your goods or services. In respect to tuning up you'll want to explore your sales pipeline to better understand how your customers find you, buy, pay and then return. This process can be heavily automated or it may be very manual. It all depends on your business type and growth plan. Looking for efficiencies can increase your margin per sale and you'll improve execution on your plan.

As part of you exploring your sales pipeline, you'll discover if your marketing has been effective at making your prospective customers aware and then driving them to convert. Marketing strategies are a moving target because people and their preferences are always changing. A great thing about marketing is that you can quickly test any change that you make to strategy. Often within days or weeks you'll see results.Marketing and Sales are cousins of each other. The learnings from one greatly influence the actions of the other. It's worth looking at them separately at times, but then bringing them back together as part of your larger strategy.As you approach year-end, this is a natural time to consider and budget for adjustment to this strategy. Whenever possible, base your changes on data from your experiences but don't be afraid to gather a second expert opinion.

Tuning up means gathering expertise from others. Schedule time with advisors to get their input on any aspects of the business you are struggling with or areas where you would like to see additional improvement. Remember advisors are often volunteering time so respect their time and you can always offer free product or services if applicable or at minimum offer lunch.

If you've got cofounders and/or employees you've got a team. Even if you've got only one other person, it's important to cultivate the relationship on an operational level but also develop each other. Stick to a schedule of team building, one and ones for mutual feedback, and regular standup to openly discuss what is working and what needs to change and WHY this is so. As your team grows and business is moving fast it will be a challenge to keep this up and the temptation will be to defer this type of activity. Filling up, nurturing, and developing the human beings around you is one of the greatest tasks you'll face. Do not kick this down the road or people will churn out and when you need them, they won't be there.

You and your team should be fanning out into the community to spread the word of your business and also meet new resources. While it's challenging to do after busy days and weeks, you need to carve out time to network at least once a month. To get value out of the experience, have specific goals and stick to your plan. Just showing up to socialize can be nice, but can also be a time sink with little value on the back end.

Unless you have a specific need or issue there may not be an apparent reason to meet with your attorney. Their time is expensive. However, an occasional check in might be worth it because they help you grow and scale. It's easier for them to build the framework with you versus, trying to do damage control after the fact. They can help with contracts, licenses, intellectual property, employees, customers, partners and suppliers. Often if you've established a good relationship with them, they won't bill you for every minute. They may even consider this time as business development.

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