It’s been a year filled with highs and lows and more people than ever working to start their own businesses, gaining control of their careers and working towards financial freedom.
However, it hasn’t been easy! So we’re asking the question…
What can we learn from this year? We’ve spoken about a variety of topics all intended to give you the resources you need to take action in your business and get closer to your vision.
So what are the biggest lessons from 2024 that we can carry over, and continue to implement in 2025?
Content Directory
- Business Resilience
- Financial Stability
- High Performance Teams and Employee Wellbeing
- Remain Customer Focused
- Preparing for 2025
Business Resilience
With constant, unpredictable fluctuations in the economy and across industries, the need to embed business resilience principles is non-negotiable. COVID-19 demonstrated how quickly unexpected events can force us to adapt how we conduct business and how resilience can prevail through trying times and sudden challenges.
One of the biggest drivers of resilience in a business is its leaders, only they can decide how to manage business resilience risks and make the decision to start implementing strategies.
How can you do that? Find out in our blog: The Role of Leadership in Business Resilience.
Financial Stability
We’ve talked about this a lot this year and for a good reason too. Business owners are rarely versed in how to manage the finances of a business. Whether it’s financial planning, tackling late payments, or applying for grants, we’ve listed a few great resources to get you started.
- Top Tips for Tackling Late Payments
- Important Tips for Successful Grant Applications
- The 4 Fundamentals of Financial Planning
- Mastering the Cash Flow Game: The Secrets to Sustainable Financial Success
If you’re in need of financial advice we have a range of vetted and verified partners who can help you with all your queries. Book a taster strategy call today so we can demonstrate how to apply these tips to your business.
High Performance Teams and Employee Wellbeing
Businesses should always strive to give their teams the training they need to become high-performing in the business. Investing in your team is not only a great benefit to the business but according to LinkedIn’s 2023 Workplace Learning Report, 94% of workers said development opportunities would keep them in a role.
And according to Udemy’s 2018 Millennials At Work Research Report, 42% of millennial employees say learning and development opportunities are the most important factor when considering a job opportunity.
Plus according to CIPD’s Health and wellbeing at work 2023, Companies that prioritise employee well-being see a 24% increase in employee retention, reducing costs associated with turnover and training.
But how can you provide that training and support? We’ve listed a few resources to get you started:
- The Essential Guide to Building a Positive Work Culture
- Unlocking SME Success Through Workplace Wellbeing
- Five Practical Steps to Boost Workplace Wellbeing
- Manage Your Mental Health as an Entrepreneur – 10 Useful Strategies
Boost your team’s skills with The Bank of Knowledge! Upskill, earn rewards, and as a CH4B member, enjoy exclusive Legacy Rewards. Book your free taster strategy session today.
Remain Customer Focused
This is one of the most important parts of marketing and selling your product or service. It’s paramount to remember what your customer needs, not what you think is best. When you put yourself in your customer’s shoes, you’ll start to make decisions that align with your audience. Your aim should always be to serve, not sell.
Take 10 minutes today to review your current messaging. Ask yourself, ‘Does this address my customer’s needs or just highlight my product?’ Adjust where needed to ensure you’re truly serving your audience.
Here are some resources to help you dig deeper:
Preparing for 2025
We’ve talked about what we can take away from 2024 now let’s dive into what we can take into 2025. Planning is the keyword here. It’s time to take what we know, and test what we don’t, to find new ways of working more effectively.
The biggest challenges coming to businesses in 2025 include:
- Marketing and Successfully Incorporating AI into the Process
- Creating Effective Sales Processes, and Standing Out from the Competition
- Setting Achievable Goals and Delivering for Your Business
- Adapting to the Autumn Budget and New Government
Marketing
Small and Medium business owners are always looking for new ways to build brand awareness, engagement and loyalty through marketing. And with everything from email, social media, digital, Tv, to direct mail. There’s no shortage of ways to make it happen.
It’s going to be important in 2025 to keep up with and adapt with consumer behaviour in both the ways you make content and how it’s presented. people are looking to consume information and content through sources they feel they can trust like real people through their personal brands.
AI will only get better and needs to fit into your business’s processes. AI will either be what keeps you ahead or what slows you down when you refuse to embrace it. It’s not as scary as it seems and can be a great tool in helping you manage the day to day operations of your company.
According to Planable: 72% of organisations have now adopted some form of AI, up from 50% in previous years.
But with so many options of how to go about marketing and Implementing AI in 2025, how will you know which ones are right for your business?
Here are some resources to answer just that:
- Increasing Sales Through Effective Email Marketing
- How to Create a Marketing Strategy
- Account Based Marketing
- What is Digital Marketing? A Guide in 2025
- Which Social Media Platform is Right for Your Business
Sales
The sales landscape has changed for a lot of businesses, and it’ll continue to shift in 2025. People don’t like being sold to and, while not for all businesses, this has led to a decrease in the effectiveness of cold pitches in many industries.
The sales process isn’t always straightforward and takes testing. 2025 will bring in the realisation that social selling is effective right now and proving your value before trying to sell it is a powerful tool for trust building and overall conversion rates when compared with cold pitching.
LinkedIn claims that 78% of those using social selling are more successful than their peers who aren’t – here’s why. The website also states that more than 75% of buyers are prepared to have a B2B conversation, so there’s no need to be hesitant about approaching people in your industry. (The Digital Marketing Institute)
Uncover what your sales process should look like with our blog: 11 Steps to Creating a Winning Sales Strategy
Goal Setting
Setting specific, actionable goals is key to building any plan for the future and is one of the most important tactics if you actually want to see progress in your business. Not only is it important to set goals but to actually write them down.
Yes, physically write them down somewhere you’ll see them often. This keeps you focused and constantly reminded of the goals you set meaning you’ll always, whether consciously or subconsciously, be looking for opportunities to achieve them.
We work with our members at CH4B using this exact method, so it’s proven to see results. We utilise the business roadmap to help you write, actualise and gain clarity on your goals along with keeping you accountable for the actions needed to get you there.
Here’s a genuine word from one of our members who has experienced the power of coaching and the business roadmap.
Here’s a few resources to boost your mindset when it comes to goals:
- Strategic Planning: How to Set Goals and Achieve Them
- Nurturing Success: The Power of a Growth Mindset
Budget Changes in 2025
We can’t look ahead into 2025 without mentioning the budget. We’ve put together a guide to aid you in finding the perfect solution to integrate the major changes to your business.
We appreciate the challenges that are likely to come off the back of this budget, but there are opportunities too. The increase in National Insurance Contributions may seem daunting but taking steps such as:
- Conducting a cost analysis of your payroll
- Looking at areas of your business where you’re spending too much or unnecessarily
- Hiring a VA instead of looking for employees too early
These are just a few of the ways you can adapt and there’s more where that came from in our blog and guide: The 2024 Autumn Budget for Businesses [Free Guide Included]
2024 has been filled with valuable lessons but it’s up to you to take that on and make 2025 your best year in business yet.
We’ve seen incredible results for our members on their journey:
- Increased turnover from 60k to £1.3 Million in the first year for a fit-out contractor
- Increased turnover for a web design agency from £5k to £50k in just 8 months.
- Coached a brand designer to increase their Instagram following from 200 to 14k followers in just 5 months.
If you want to be one of the next success stories where CH4B has helped make a difference, then don’t hesitate to reach out and book a no-strings-attached taster strategy session with us and we’ll give you some actionable advice on what you’re struggling with the most.
