Five ways small business owners can set themselves up for success

Jo Tozer, head of go to market at MYOB. Photo / Supplied

OPINION:

It’s no secret the last few years have taken a significant toll on business owners who have found themselves navigating the challenges and pressures of Covid-19, an uneven economic recovery and a raft of lingering impacts – from supply chain issues to ongoing staff shortages.

Now, with growing discussion around the potential of a recession this year, SME owners across the country can be forgiven for entering the New Year with a sense of foreboding.

For any business owner, one of the hardest things to deal with is a lack of control. Yet, with so many of the forces affecting the economy being well outside the influence of any business, New Zealand’s SME community has had to constantly adapt to changing market conditions.

As we kick off 2023, many business owners are not only looking at how to safeguard and even grow business performance, but doing so while also looking after their own personal resilience and wellbeing. In fact, for more than a third (35 per cent) of the business operators we surveyed in the latest MYOB SME Snapshot, improving their work/life balance was a key priority for the year ahead.

In any economic environment, there are a number of actions business owners can take to ensure they survive or thrive. Regardless of how various economic factors play out in the coming year, here are five ways SME owners and operators can set themselves up for success in 2023 and maintain a healthy balance around work and life.

Plan and prioritise

At some point in their career, most business operators are faced with the recognition that, even though they wear many hats, they can’t do everything. So, use any opportunity to take stock of what you can reasonably achieve and prioritise the things you can do that will make the biggest difference to your business.

Ask for help

Sharing the workload with another manager or trusted staff members can help offset some of the operational responsibilities and give you the chance to work on your business development when your business needs it most.

There are also plenty of experts for SME leaders to draw on, from your financial adviser to a business mentor – and for many of them, this won’t be their first time navigating through a downturn or recession. If it’s yours, finding someone you can trust to help you prepare for any operating environment can make an enormous difference to how ready you are to cope with changes in the market and deal with any stresses that arise from it.

Maximise efficiencies

If you can, find and implement a digital solution, online apps or an automated system to take care of some of your work. Kiwi businesses that have digitised report major improvements in efficiency, visibility, decision-making and control – all things that are vital to a business during economic uncertainty, while improving business productivity and delivering a better work/life balance by taking some of the load.

Take the long view

Economic cycles are just that, cycles. If there is a significant downturn, an inevitable upswing will follow. If you can focus on that, you will find it easier to cope with the short-term challenges over the coming months.

Taking a longer-term view, also helps you helps you keep focused on your ambitions. Regularly assessing your strategy and taking stock of your performance against how you expected to be tracking can help you adapt in the short-term while staying on the path you’ve set for success.

Take that holiday

For almost a quarter of the SME owners we surveyed recently, it had been more than a year since they’d taken a break of more than three days from their business, and 1-in-10 either couldn’t remember their last holiday or hadn’t taken one since they started their business.

A recession – or any period of economic downturn – can feel like an “all-hands-on-deck” scenario. As though you can’t afford to be away from work for a single moment. But taking a break – even an extra day or two over a long weekend (if you have the support or time to buffer) – can not only help you recharge, but also provide that all-important fresh perspective on the issues you face.