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Now that the market has waived goodbye to 2023, many companies find themselves at a crucial point for reflection and strategic planning for 2024. The year proved to be a rollercoaster ride, as the aftermath of the uncertainties of 2022 continued to resonate throughout 2023 and was further compounded by new factors.
Over 240,000 people lost their jobs in mass layoffs in the tech industry. Founders and business owners were urged to slim down their businesses and adapt to the complexities of a rapidly changing market landscape. Now that this period has come to an end, entrepreneurs need to evaluate the lessons learned and identify key insights that they will carry into this year to fortify their strategies.
As a business owner in my own right, I felt like sharing some of my own experiences and the biggest lessons that last year left me with.
1. Placing emphasis on revenue over turnover
In the context of the challenges and shifts witnessed throughout 2023, the emphasis on business revenues over turnover rates has gained paramount importance. Companies operating in the fintech and financial industry had to recognize that sustainable revenue streams came to carry much greater importance.
Focusing on revenues is important because it sheds light on your venture’s financial health and viability, both in the immediate and the long term. And 2023, marked by many economic uncertainties, highlighted the need for businesses to adopt a more pragmatic approach to keep themselves afloat.
Relying solely on turnover rates might lead to short-term gains, but the sustainability of your revenue generation is crucial if your venture weathers unforeseen challenges. Adaptability and strategic planning are always key factors for businesses. Throughout the last year, in particular, fintech companies came to learn the importance of building a solid financial foundation.
2. Building up your team into the best it can possibly be
There is nothing more important to any business than the team that runs it, especially when the market is going through uncertain times. The ability to gather the best people to enable your company to grow and achieve results is the only thing that can ensure your success.
To raise a personal example: back in 2021-2022, our company hired employees in large groups, but now we’ve narrowed down the selection processes to find the best possible candidates. We don’t approach this as a routine but ensure that we know exactly what kind of work a person will do in our company and whether they can fit into our collective.
As a result of this shift in approach, we managed to become much more efficient and considerably improved the comfort elements for people in the company. Our workers now have a much better understanding of what contributions they make to the company’s success, leading to greater focus and motivation. These experiences helped us all become closer to each other.
3. Maintaining proper flow of information and inclusive planning
Another big thing that I’ve learned to consider is the importance of keeping everyone on the team updated on what the company is doing and the overall direction in which we are moving. Every week, we hold meetups where my fellow founders and I share our successes with employees, analyze mistakes and failures and hold discussions to figure out ways to move forward.
Our company closed 2023 with a new product strategy for the next 2-3 years, which we have already presented and discussed as a unified team. We realized that some of the things our company had focused on last year weren’t important, so we made adjustments. We developed a better understanding of what products we need, as well as how to build interactions with our clients and partners.
These changes enabled us to successfully overcome the market turmoil and maintain growth and profitability throughout the past year. Now, we enter 2024 with the whole team clearly understanding what comes next for our company.
New year, new challenges: Face them without fear
Running a business is a hard and complicated endeavor, and it is virtually inevitable that you will stumble and run into hurdles. This is not something to be ashamed of. The ability to note your mistakes and learn from them is critically important for the founders of any business. A principle that holds particular significance as we step into 2024, a year that will no doubt be rife with new challenges to overcome.
Only by knowing its strengths and weaknesses can a company grow and succeed. Your team, your partners, your investors – everyone who looks at you as a founder evaluates first and foremost how you pull your company through challenges and ensure its prolonged health.
If you have experience from several failures, this is also one more potential source of strength that you can use for the prosperity of your company.