We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and wish you a Happy New Year! With the new year comes the strategic planning to grow your business in 2020 (not only the start of a new decade but also a number that represents clarity of vision).

Have you thought about expanding your business through government contracting? At FedBiz we can help you reach this goal in 2020.

What better time than now to build your plan to take your business to the next level. Ideas can come from all directions, as you jot them down, erase them, rewrite them, and expand them…

1) Take Some Quiet Time to Review the Past Year

What have you been doing that has worked? Where can you improve?
S.W.O.T. Analysis –
- Internal – What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- External – What are your opportunities and threats?

2) Revisit the Basics

What is your ‘brand’? Who do you want to reach? How will you do it?

Ideal Customer: Who is your ideal customer? Start by thinking about your current customers and how you can best serve them.
Unique Selling Proposition (USP): What is your unique selling proposition – features and benefits? Why are you different and better than your competition?
Mission / Message / Medium: What is your company’s vision? What core values do you want to shape your organization? Create your message with an understanding of your ideal customer and USP then communicate it on a platform with consistency and repeatability to capture their attention.

3) Identify and Set Clear Goals

Where are you and where do you want to be by the end of 2020 (and beyond)?
Set S.M.A.R.T. Goals – (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely)
Short-term goals should point to your long-term vision of where you want to go.

4) Set Benchmarks and KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators)

Goals with quantitative measures are easier to track and therefore more achievable.
Measure your progress towards your goals with milestones. Review and analyze the results to make tactical changes as needed throughout the year.
KPI’s creates accountability and objective performance measurement.

5) Develop Your Financial Plan

Assess your cash flow and current resources.
Analyze your fixed and variable costs, personnel requirements, overhead and capital expenditures.
What are your monthly revenue targets based on your operating history and are they realistic?
Are there external factors that may impact your business or the economy?
Measure each month’s performance and compare as the year progresses.
Cash flow is king, never run out of cash!

Finally, in an attempt to avoid your business plan from only being put in a drawer to collect dust and be forgotten, review your plan and make adjustments on at least a quarterly basis.

So I’ll leave you with this as the holiday season winds down, whether you’re celebrating with family and friends or just being thankful for all that surrounds you, when your next spark of inspiration comes about your business and you find yourself frantically writing on the back of a cocktail napkin, be sure to write FedBiz on there somewhere to remind yourself to contact us and learn how we can help you grow your government contracting business in 2020.

Here’s to making 2020 your BEST YEAR EVER!