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As 2024 begins, goals and resolutions come first. According to a recent Intuit QuickBooks report, the top priority among business owners is increasing revenue, not getting financing or launching new products or services.
Increasing revenue is no easy feat, but entrepreneurs can use a variety of strategies to help achieve growth in 2024. Even if some macroeconomic pressures such as inflation and interest rates may ease this year, they are likely to continue to cause concern for the business. By looking for new ways to modernize and improve business processes, entrepreneurs can be better positioned to deliver momentum in 2024 and beyond, even in ever-changing economic conditions.
Related: 4 Turbo Revenue Boosting Secrets Every Executive Should Know
Hire skilled workers
Having good employees is key to business growth, and in 2024 business owners say it’s a top priority, even ahead of cash flow. Entrepreneurs believe that hiring skilled workers will help them meet increased customer demand, and most employers (89%) want to hire more employees or contractors this year. But hiring can also be expensive, and according to one study, the average cost to hire was nearly $4,700 when you factor in onboarding, training, and productivity gains.
Expanding the workforce is especially important to younger entrepreneurs, with more than three-quarters (76%) of Gen Z small business owners and 80% of Millennial small business owners saying they want to hire employees this year. Compare that to just 34% of baby boomer-owned small businesses. In terms of how to hire skilled workers, I recommend that business owners be very specific when developing job descriptions, focusing on the problems and challenges you are trying to solve with the role. And by offering employee benefits like health care and paid time off, small businesses will be in a better position to compete with larger businesses in attracting top talent.
Optimize inventory management to improve omnichannel sales
As business owners embrace omnichannel sales, selling across multiple online and in-person channels can maximize revenue, but it can also add new complexities to running your business. Have you ever ordered a product from a business, big or small, only to find out that it was actually sold out? Optimizing your inventory management so you can deliver the best customer experience is the key to success and continued customer loyalty.
Take Matt Paggi of Barred Woods Maple, a QuickBooks customer, who shared with our team how important a positive first-time shopping experience is—especially during the busy holiday season. The holidays are usually when they do almost a third of their annual business, and every year they see returning customers who have made gifting their maple products a tradition. To ensure they could manage increased inventory needs, they expanded their presence across channels to attract both new and returning customers, ramped up production ahead of time and hired seasonal employees.
For business owners like Matt, my number one tip is to use the power of data analytics to optimize inventory management and sales strategies. This includes looking at your sales history to identify the most popular products and impactful channels to drive strategic decision-making and maintain a real-time understanding of stock levels to avoid overages and shortages. In addition, data trends around the price of raw materials can also help business owners know when to buy in bulk or cut back on production.
Data shows that improving and expanding omnichannel sales is especially important to Gen Z entrepreneurs, with 88% of Gen Z small business owners looking to expand e-commerce or brick-and-mortar locations to increase revenue in 2024, compared to 66% of Generation X and Baby Boomers.
Related: These 4 Quick Wins Can Increase Your Clients & Revenue
Dynamic management of cash flows and credit card obligations
To make money, you need to have money on hand. Access to cash and maintaining a steady cash flow is essential to small business survival. Whether they set aside enough money to cover overhead, if payments are late to pay for unexpected expenses and emergencies, business owners need to be prepared for the inevitable curve that will come their way.
There are a few simple ways business owners can build a cash flow cushion. First, know your fixed and variable expenses and monitor cash flow projections regularly to spot potential problems before they arise. Digital tools can be incredibly valuable, providing you with real-time information that can help you plan ahead and react quickly. I also recommend treating cash flow savings as a fixed expense and setting firm guidelines for when you will use cash reserves.
Business owners also need to be mindful of how they use and manage credit cards. Recent data shows small businesses’ increased reliance on credit cards to manage cash flow – 83% of business owners relied on a credit card to manage their business finances, and 59% of business owners who use credit cards said , that it is an “emergency or temporary source of funding.”
What’s more, nearly 24% of small businesses don’t believe they’ll be able to pay off their credit card balances in 2024 without paying interest. It’s important to have a strategy when using credit cards to manage your cash flow — and to make sure you stay on top of managing your interest rates on the cards you use — or it could be a costly expense down the road.
Related: 6 Strategies to Optimize Cash Management When Starting a Business
Kit Yours financial goals
Whether it’s setting an intention for the day or creating a recovery timeline to achieve a major business milestone, goals are an important part of the business owner’s journey.
As 2024 begins, business owners need to consider what financial goals will make them feel successful. These financial goals can help provide a clear sense of direction, serve as benchmarks for progress and success, or reveal areas that need improvement. They can also serve as a road map of your long-term mission or vision for the business and can ultimately help fuel overall growth.
Success can be measured differently by different people, but regardless of how you view success, setting a goal and understanding the revenue goals for your business can help you plan and achieve a fruitful year ahead.
