Business Planning – January 2024

Preparing a comprehensive business plan for the upcoming year is crucial for any business aiming to capitalize on new opportunities and navigate potential challenges. A well-crafted business plan enables businesses to outline clear goals, define actionable steps, allocate resources effectively and adapt strategies to changing environments. Flexibility within annual business plans is critical, allowing for adaptability in the face of unforeseen changes and market fluctuations. Ultimately, having a robust business plan in place ensures that businesses are better equipped to seize opportunities and optimize their operations. The business experts in Lincoln advise businesses to consider integrating professional coaching into your business agenda alongside financial guidance to start 2024 off right.

Finances are the foundation for any business, regardless of its size or industry. They form the bedrock upon which all operations, decisions and strategies are built. At its core, effective financial management ensures the stability and sustainability of a business. It allows for informed decision-making by providing insights into the company’s financial health, profitability and areas for potential growth.

To ensure positive financial standing in 2024, we recommend meeting with SP Group to discuss taxes and the new options available. One such new option is available through the Nebraska Pass-Through Entity Tax (PTET), which represents a significant change in the state tax law, has the potential to benefit shareholders in S-corporations and partners in partnerships. This tax legislation allows pass-through entities, such as S-corps and partnerships, to elect to be taxed at the entity level rather than at the individual owner level.

The recent PTET legislation offers an additional advantage by allowing S-corporations and partnerships to retroactively claim credits for tax years 2018 through 2022. This provision permits eligible entities to apply for credits based on their prior year tax returns, provided they pay the tax that aligns with the new rules introduced by this legislation. In addition to the tax credits, the business will be able to deduct the payments. The timeframe to take advantage of this opportunity to claim credits and take the deduction for previous tax years is set to expire on December 31, 2025.

Jason Hardy, CPA with SP Group (spgrouppc.com), recommends considering all of your options before settling on if and when you take advantage of the PTET legislation. “Managing business cash is crucial for success, and to effectively manage your finances, you have to understand why you are writing checks and when it is best for you to do so.”

Once your financials are planned and situated, you can better plan for the year ahead. When prioritizing the needs of your business, one of the first things you should consider is if you are equipped with everything you need to operate smoothly and efficiently, including the location of your office.

Real estate decisions wield substantial influence, impacting a business across multiple facets. Location choice directly affects accessibility to customers, suppliers and talent pools, crucial for boosting productivity and expanding market reach. Additionally, decisions about office space size and layout as well as warehouse facilities significantly shape workflow. Financially, lease negotiations or property acquisitions affect costs, cash flow and long-term financial commitments. These decisions play a pivotal role in shaping the company’s bottom line, influencing its capacity to invest in growth initiatives.

“As businesses assess their space needs for 2024 and beyond, we can assist them with decisions relating to relocation, expansion, lease negotiation or property acquisition. Given the current interest rate environment and economic uncertainty, the right real estate decisions play a critical role in a business’s success,” shared Brett Harris, Director of Brokerage Services at Greenleaf Commercial Real Estate (greenleafcommercial.com).

Greenleaf Commercial Real Estate is a comprehensive provider of commercial real estate solutions, offering a wide array of professional services tailored to meet various needs. Whether you require assistance with leasing a property, buying or selling, seeking expert advice or navigating property development, Greenleaf’s team of skilled professionals is dedicated to supporting your success in the commercial real estate sphere. Their diverse expertise and services aim to address a spectrum of commercial real estate needs, ensuring tailored solutions to help achieve objectives.

With your physical location under wraps, you can move onto the logistics of your IT. As the New Year begins, now is the time to consider your business’s IT strategic plan for 2024. Much like you plan annual budgets, sales goals and growth opportunities, having a strategic plan for your IT needs is equally as essential. Do you have a cyber incident response plan in place? What about a consistent server and network backup plan? These tasks are not only important, but they are vital to the success of any business.

As such, Hamilton Information Systems (hamiltontel.com) recommends working with a Managed IT service provider to increase operational efficiencies and enhance your cybersecurity posture. “Working with a Managed IT service provider enables you to be better prepared for business growth with a unified Managed IT solution that proactively meets your strategic IT plan. Our clients benefit from consistently monitored hardware, regularly backed-up data and extensive safeguards to protect their businesses against the ever-changing cyber landscape. Our Managed IT solution allows our clients to focus on what they do best – growing their business,” shared Ryan Wineteer, Hamilton Information Systems Sales Manager.

Hamilton Information System’s unified Managed IT solution empowers businesses to focus on their core competencies while efficiently fortifying their IT infrastructure for growth and security. Without this foundation, businesses would be at risk of losing important information that could set them back farther the longer the problems go unaddressed.

With a strong foundation for your business to grow upon, the next thing to consider is how to strengthen your business. This involves optimizing operational efficiency, expanding into new markets, maintaining healthy finances, fostering innovation and adaptability, nurturing talent and prioritizing customer relationships.

According to Katie Koesteer, a Professional EOS Implementer with EOS Worldwide (eosworldwide.com), “The markets are ever-changing and can present new obstacles and challenges that your business may have never encountered, so strengthening your business is imperative. As a coach, I work closely with my clients to create a robust and flexible plan that focuses on strengthening the Six Key Components of their business: vision, people, data, issues, process and traction.”

By prioritizing accountability and discipline across the organization, Katie empowers her clients to construct a resilient framework capable of navigating any challenges that arise, fostering a business foundation capable of withstanding unforeseen adversities and ensuring sustained growth and success.

EOS Worldwide, through its Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS), aims to facilitate businesses in aligning their vision, fostering operational traction and cultivating a robust leadership team to drive business excellence. By employing EOS, the focus lies in getting everyone within the business on the same page regarding the overarching vision and objectives. This process involves crystallizing a clear business vision and determining key priorities essential for enhancing operational efficiency and profitability. By establishing a unified direction and addressing core priorities, EOS helps businesses operate more smoothly and profitably while building a cohesive and effective leadership team to steer the company towards success.

To further strengthen your business, you have to strengthen your presence and get in front of as many potential customers as possible – a strong online presence and effective exposure are pivotal for business growth. One way for businesses to expand their reach and customer engagement is through the use of well-crafted, attention-grabbing videos that communicate brand stories, products and services.

Altitude Motion Media (altitudemotion.com) specializes in producing high-quality, attention-grabbing videos designed to elevate businesses. They prioritize collaborating closely with business owners to craft a personalized video strategy aligned with their specific preferences and requirements, enabling an effective showcase of offerings across various platforms such as social media, emails and websites.

“We are here to help businesses tackle 2024 by helping them meet their video marketing and social media goals. We love to help businesses tell their story, and with the New Year comes a new way for them to do that,” explained CEO/Creative Director Ryan Lindbeck. “The newest offering in our industry includes short-form content such as reels. Short-form content is a great attention grabber, making it perfect for social media. As such, we include them with all of our video projects.”

The integration of short-form videos into all video projects ensures that Altitude Motion Media’s clients have engaging content optimized for diverse platforms, enabling them to effectively connect with their audiences and stand out in the digital landscape.

Annual business planning is a must for any company’s well-being. Having a solid foundation and mission is vital for successful planning. We recommend seeking expertise to guide you towards success and encourage you to connect with the featured experts for timely and meaningful planning. Wishing you and your business a fantastic year from all of us at Strictly Business, let’s make 2024 a good one!