Kicking it into High Gear for 2024: Auditing Your Catering Goals

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With a new year on the horizon, we’re in the season of reflection, optimization, and goal-setting. During these quieter months, it’s natural to look back on what you’ve achieved this year, explore where you fell short (and why), and consider how you’ll define success in 2024. 

Whether you aim to open a new brick-and-mortar location, introduce a new service offering in your catering business, or pursue any other growth opportunity, now is the time to get clear on your goals and create a plan to see them through to the finish line.

No matter where you are in your future-planning process, use these three steps to audit your 2024 goals and set yourself up for streamlined success.

Revisit (or determine) your KPIs

Before setting sights on the future, you must first review your progress and setbacks for the year. If you’ve been tracking data on your key performance indicators (KPIs), you’re already a few steps ahead! Sit down with the numbers, taking note of high-performing and low-performing periods. Consider any factors that contributed to your business’s ebbs and flows, like a slow month due to short-staffing or weather conditions.

If you haven’t set KPIs for your business goals, make sure to do so before heading into the new year. As you collect data, you can identify trends and adjust strategies accordingly. Consider the most important numbers in your success, like gross revenue, net profit, cost of goods sold, booking rate, employee retention rate, or social media engagement rate. Then, create a simple system for storing and analyzing data throughout the year.

Brush up on market news

Even seemingly attainable goals can feel hard to reach when the market is working against your favor, so it helps to have a finger on the pulse of the industry when planning for the future. What factors could hold you back from reaching your goals? Better yet, how can you capitalize on the state of the market to go above and beyond your goals? 

External factors like inflation, global conflict, industry regulations, technological advancements, and natural disasters can all influence your business’s performance, so do some proactive research to prepare as best as possible. Keep an eye on international business news, follow key thought leaders, and read trade journals and other industry publications. The more informed you are, the better your chance of meeting your goals.

Establish significant milestones

While setting annual goals is best practice, you must also designate key milestones to preserve motivation and hold yourself accountable. Otherwise, the year might go by in the blink of an eye with little to no progress on those big-picture goals! 

Realistic benchmarks help you stay on course, even when bogged down with admin tasks, client work, personnel management, and other essential duties. They also provide occasions to celebrate your wins, which is a great way to sustain momentum.

So, for example, if your annual goal is to enter a new market and end the year with it accounting for 25% in sales, your milestones may include:

  • Create a new brand platform to expand reach

  • Develop or update a marketing strategy for the new audience

  • Launch a new product or service to attract different customers

  • Establish one partnership with an influential brand that has a high market share

Whether your goals are a continuation of this year’s or you’re planning a major shift in your business, strategic planning is the key to success in 2024. By assessing past performance, staying up-to-date on market trends, and laying out the steps to your big-picture goals, you’ll have a roadmap guiding you all the way to victory.

Clint Elkins is the V.P. of Sales for SB Value, a Group Purchasing Organization that helps culinary professionals save an average of 16% on every food order. Membership is 100% free. No hidden fees. No extra work. Just extra profits. See how much you can save on your next food order when you become an SB Value member. Request a quote today.