By Jon Namba
Was 2024 a successful year for your business? Traveling across the country this past year, I heard mixed impressions. Some said business was great; others were steady but could have done more installations. Then there were those who said business was down approximately 30%.
In most of the western states business was steady, while in the midwest and eastern portions it was a mix. If you were one of the fortunate businesses that saw growth, great job. For those that felt business was off, what are you thinking about changing for 2025?
Inflation hit a lot of buyers and it’s difficult to blame anyone’s business practices for a slowdown when you have no control over the economy. Sometimes it’s just being able to keep afloat during the slow times to make it back to better days. It’s a good idea to take a small portion of your jobs and put some of that money in the bank, so you have a buffer to pay your bills and keep your business running. Look to your local Small Business Administration for assistance also; they’re there to assist small businessowners with mentors as well as business loans.
Times change and your business needs to adapt—what may have worked last year may not work as well the next, so don’t get caught going down the same road and hitting the same potholes every day. One thing I’ve noticed is the amount of technology changing how businesses operate. I’m writing this article on a new laptop, and it has fingerprint technology to log me into my computer versus typing in a password. Really? AI, ChatGPT—being old school, this is totally new verbiage to me. So what is a chatbot? I had to look it up. (Brief definition: an app or web program designed to have conversations with you.)
I grew up reading “Dick Tracy” comic books thinking it would be so cool to talk into a watch, and now I have one—although I still don’t know all the functions. That’s okay, because my grandkids can show me. I’m definitely “Lost in Space” and in the “Matrix” about all this “Back to the Future” stuff. Business as we know it is changing at a remarkable pace so if you plan on being an “Alien” and not keeping up, be careful—it won’t be long before the “Terminator” is knocking on your door and leaving you in the dust!
All puns aside, I’m a big advocate of getting education and training to stay on top of these (and other) changes. Plenty of associations are offering courses for 2025, so plan on attending one or more to improve your business. Wishing you all a great year, and “May the Force be with You.”
