It’s around this time of year where we start to look back on what we achieved this year, and start to plan what new things we want to do for the next 12 months. Sort of like New Years resolutions, but with a more business focus.

If I was to sum up this year, I would say that this was a year of change and transition. I will be doing a full year review at the end of this week so make sure you come back to read that epic post which promises to be as long as a Bible chapter! But this year we have definitely seen some paradigm shifts in what we thought we knew about the industry. For example, we found out that a lot of previously PVC-only companies are now sourcing aluminium products as a second tier in their product portfolio. So, what things are you guys going to do differently next year?

Dual-sourcing two materials could be an option. The aluminium market seems to be opening up in more places around the country at the moment, and with construction on the up and self-builds booming, finding a good supplier of aluminium bi-folds or residential windows might be prudent. It never harms to have a second string to that bow.

Social media might be something people want to embrace more next year. Whether you like it or not, social media in all of it’s varying platforms is really starting to make impacts in many different ways. How long can you afford to ignore it’s influence?

Are you looking to expand next year? 2013 has been a great year for many businesses, but one after effect of the recession is lower staff levels struggling to cope with the higher work levels. The last few years has been a struggle for many, with a lot of companies having to cut jobs in order to stay afloat. But now the economy is back on the road to recovery, output is starting to rise, which is of course a great thing. Unfortunately, the reduced workforce has been struggling to cope with the increase in business of late and we have seen mistakes creep in where there weren’t before. So maybe it is time for businesses to invest in new staff and new equipment to make sure that as things continue to remain positive, it isn’t tainted by unhappy customers and remedial issues which drag on.

So what do you plan to do differently next year? All comments are welcome in the section below.