Business Planning for 2006

This new years, I listed the 4 ways to improve (as a business) my kids online learning service:
1. Get more traffic to my site
2. Convert traffic into customers better
3. Retain members longer
4. Sell more to members.

These points, heavily intertwined, are my plan. For instance, a better conversion rate is possible if I get more refined traffic. Or if the traffic arrives in a segmented fashion, I can "talk" more directly to each set of parents particular interests, example, I could talk to the middleschool parents about their issues, the preschool parents about theirs, and so on for the gifted, special needs, remedial, homeschoolers, etc etc

I'm often asked to give business talks (I have run corporations, done IPOs, am a Havard MBA etc etc) and a common great question is how to set priorities.

In my business, working with limited resources, I tend to work on those issues that I know how to progress. That is, I focus where progress is certain. I stay away from issues which, while really important, are not currently within my means or know-how to do much about.

The exception is improving the quality of the experience for existing members. As an ethical and business principle, I put this highest effort the highest on the list. (Just behind my staff's health and needs.)