2016 is about to end—none too soon for many of us. But whether it was a good year for your small business or a mediocre one, chances are you’re looking forward to the promise a new year brings.

What does 2017 have in store for small businesses? To get some answers I asked an array of entrepreneurial and industry experts to share their insights (shown below in alphabetical order by company name)

Outlook for the Business-for-Sale Market

2016 is on pace to be a record-breaking year for small business transactions. And looking ahead, 2017 is poised to be another promising year. According to BizBuySell’s December nationwide survey of business brokers, 79% expect the number of business-for-sale transactions to improve in the new year. Brokers believe the following factors will have the greatest positive impact on the 2017 small business environment: President-elect Donald Trump’s policy changes (31%), an increasing number of owners looking to sell (22%) and improving small business financials (13.82%). In addition, half of the responding business brokers expect sale prices in 2017 to remain consistent with 2016, while another 45% expect prices to increase.

While the post-recession market leaned in favor of buyers thanks to reduced confidence and tighter access to capital, today’s environment is much more balanced. A good indicator of this is the fact that sellers received a final sale price much closer to their original asking price than in previous years, a trend we expect to continue in 2017.

Roughly 5% of today’s small business market buyers are Millennials. As more Baby Boomers sell their businesses, the number of Millennial buyers is sure to rise, however most buyers in 2017 are still expected to be college-educated, middle-aged men according to the BizBuySell 2016 Demographic Study.

Planning for Success

From Josh McCarter, CEO, Booker

• Review Your Results from 2016 and Build a Plan for 2017. What worked, what didn’t work?  Did you achieve your desired revenues, growth rates, or targeted expenses? If so, what enabled you to do meet your goals? You should double down on those efforts in 2017. If not, what do you need to do differently to achieve those desired outcomes? Set specific goals, and create a plan to achieve these goals. Using the SMART Goalsframework can be helpful if you haven’t done this before. Fail to plan = Plan to fail.
• Get More Out of Your Existing Customers. Focusing on serving your existing customers can help you grow your revenues faster and more efficiently than spending on new customer acquisition. Why? Because happy existing customers are your best and least expensive marketing channel. They will return and buy more from you, tell their friends to buy from you, and write positive reviews that new customers will read before deciding to buy from you. Consider investing in marketing tools and systems that will help you offer targeted promotions to your best customers or incentivize them to provide feedback, refer friends, and/or write reviews.
• Review your systems and service providers.Do you know how much you are spending each month on marketing? Do you know what results your marketing channels are driving? Do you know how much you are paying for the various software, telecom, and other systems you run your business on? Are there new tools available that consolidate these services into one system that is available [for less money than] the price you pay for all the individual solutions? Every year new advancements are made in marketing, software, technology, etc., and it’s important to be sure you’re spending money efficiently on products/services that help you drive results and free up your time so you can do what you love—serve your customers!

To read more click here.

By Rieva Lesonsky