Christmas is generally the time of year where most businesses slow down. You and your team take some time off, your customers and suppliers generally do the same. So it's a perfect time to reflect on the year passed and the changes you want to make for the future.

We get so bogged down in the day to day operations of our business we forget to step back and think about how to make improvements. The business world is changing so rapidly, the opportunities for improvements are endless...especially if you look at using technology and digital strategies to make those improvements. We have a world filled with new businesses coming up with products to not only change the way we consume but also change the way we work, increase our productivity and ultimately increase our bottom line.

That's why we are so passionate about initiatives such as Hunter Digit who held the 1st ever Digital Expo in Newcastle. For those of you who missed the day it was amazing. Speakers shared ideas about the future of Regions, how we will employ people, how our businesses will operate in different buildings and spaces, what the next generation of workers will expect, how we will interact with customers and suppliers....and my favourite....the business tools available now and what that might look like in the future. The expo included names such as Deputy, Unleashed, GeoOP, Xero, Shoeboxed, Invitbox and many more. The differences these products can make to your business is fascinating.

We are lucky enough at Growthwise to be able to focus on helping change the way small businesses operate. We can focus on increasing productivity, reducing administration burden, increasing your profits and more importantly give you the tools and information to make decisions in your business based on real time facts. We started this process by implementing Xero with our clients. We believe up to date and real time data for your business is invaluable. But we also believe in reducing your administration and data entry as much as possible. Xero ticked those boxes as well as many more, including the fact you can plug many other industry and business specific applications straight in....again eliminating your data entry and allowing you to operate your business in the most efficient manner. But Xero is only one part of the ecosystem.

Christmas is the prime time to sit back and reflect on the improvements you want to make next year. Reflect on the bottlenecks in your business. Reflect on the opportunities you have. And reflect on what tools you can implement to really start to see the gains in your business. This is where Growthwise can really help you. We are certified in providing training for the applications that drive your business performance. We have a lot of experience in transforming businesses from old labour intensive processes to new automated and streamlined ones. We know what applications your business can utilise to really drive performance. Over the next week we will showcase an application each day to help show you the types of gains we are talking about.

Transforming your business is easy. You just need to ask yourself the right questions and understand the opportunities the new digital age presents your business.

So what are you going to do this Christmas to transform your business?