New Year's Resolutions: Looking Ahead to 2015
Welcome to 2015
A very belated Happy New Year from everyone at ABSOLUTE360®.
It is difficult to believe that January is already coming to an end. Christmas and New Year now seem like a distant memory, and the first few weeks of 2015 have passed in a blur.
My last blog post, Time Has Flown, was published at the beginning of November. I had planned to write and publish two further posts before Christmas, but events overtook me and my attention was needed across other areas of the business.
As the founder of a small company, I often find myself wearing many different hats. Product development, customer service, marketing and the everyday running of the business all compete for attention, and occasionally something has to be placed on the back burner. Unfortunately, the blog was one of those things.
One of my New Year’s resolutions for 2015 is therefore to write more regularly and continue sharing the ABSOLUTE360 journey with our readers.
When I started the blog just over a year ago, my aim was to provide updates about the company while also sharing useful information connected with health, fitness and wellbeing. What I did not expect was how much I would enjoy researching different subjects and putting my thoughts into words.
I may already be a little behind schedule, but there is still plenty of time to put that resolution into practice.
Every new year begins with fresh goals, new ideas and the opportunity to keep moving forward.
Looking Back Before Moving Forward
The beginning of a new year is often a good opportunity to pause and reflect.
ABSOLUTE360 has now completed its first full year in business, and looking back over the past twelve months, it is encouraging to see how far we have come.
Building a new company is never straightforward. There have been challenges, delays and occasions when things have not gone quite according to plan. However, each experience has helped us learn, improve and move the business forward.
We have continued developing our product range, listened carefully to feedback from customers and product testers, and worked to introduce more people to our far infrared clothing and accessories.
There is still a great deal of work ahead, but the progress made during 2014 has given us even more motivation for the year to come.
Our Resolutions for the Year Ahead
Like many people, I have made several personal New Year’s resolutions. However, I have also spent time thinking about what I would like ABSOLUTE360 to achieve during 2015.
Some of our goals are simple:
- continue improving our products;
- listen to our customers;
- develop new ideas;
- support the athletes who represent us;
- and share more useful health, fitness and wellbeing content through the ABSOLUTE360 blog.
None of these resolutions will be achieved overnight. They will require patience, consistency and a willingness to keep learning.
That is perhaps the most important lesson I have taken from the past year. Progress does not always arrive in one dramatic moment. More often, it comes from making small improvements, responding to feedback and continuing to move forward.
New Products on the Way
One of the areas keeping us particularly busy has been product development.
In my previous blog post, I mentioned three new products that were expected to arrive between the end of November and the beginning of the New Year.
The IR No-Show 24/7 Socks and IR Palm and Wrist Support were both released as planned. The response to the Palm and Wrist Support has been particularly encouraging, with sales exceeding our original expectations.
Three new additions to the ABSOLUTE360 range developed through customer feedback, research and product testing.
The third product, our IR Calf Sleeves, has taken slightly longer to complete.
During prototype testing, our product testers provided valuable feedback that allowed us to make further improvements to the design. Although this created a delay, it was a welcome one.
When developing a new product, it is far more important to get the details right than to rush something to market simply to meet an original launch date.
The calf sleeves will form part of our Body Support range and are now planned for release at the end of February.
The launch may be around six weeks later than expected, but I believe the additional development time has helped us create a product capable of competing with established names within the compression and performance market.
For a small and growing business, bringing a new product from an initial idea through testing and development is always exciting. Seeing customers use and enjoy the finished product makes the process worthwhile.
Introducing Team ABSOLUTE360
Another project I have been working on quietly for almost a year is Team ABSOLUTE360.
The idea was to introduce our products and far infrared technology to athletes competing across a variety of sports and invite them to become part of the ABSOLUTE360 family.
There were inevitably a few rejections along the way. However, most of the athletes I approached responded with genuine curiosity and a willingness to learn more about what we were developing.
This opened the door to some very positive conversations.
I did not want Team ABSOLUTE360 to be based solely on a conventional sponsorship arrangement. It was important that the athletes had the opportunity to test the products for themselves and provide honest feedback based on their own training and competition experiences.
Athletes competing at a high-level demand a great deal from their clothing and equipment. Comfort, performance and reliability can all make a difference, particularly during demanding training sessions and competition.
Their experience and feedback can therefore help us understand how our products perform in real sporting environments and where further improvements may be possible.
The first Team ABSOLUTE360 athletes, helping test products and represent the brand throughout 2015.
We are delighted to welcome the following athletes to Team ABSOLUTE360:
Michael Bradbury – Great Britain age-group triathlete and Army Physical Training Instructor.
Arram Eghoyan – Under-90kg strongman champion and WPF World Champion powerlifter.
Lauren Winfield – Yorkshire and England cricket player.
Craig Pickering – Former Team GB Olympic sprinter and Team GB bobsleigh brakeman.
Lewis Jones – Cardiff Blues first-team squad rugby player.
Each athlete brings a different perspective, a different sporting background and a wealth of experience.
We are proud to support them and look forward to following their progress throughout 2015.
Listening to Our Customers
Another important resolution for the year ahead is to keep listening to the people who use our products.
Customer feedback is extremely valuable to a growing business. Positive reviews let us know what we are doing well, while constructive criticism can highlight areas where we may be able to improve.
During the past year, we upgraded our website so customers could leave feedback directly on individual product pages.
We have also partnered with the independent review service Trusted Shops, giving customers the opportunity to share their overall experience of ordering from ABSOLUTE360.
These reviews are not only helpful to us. They can also provide useful information to future customers who may be discovering the brand for the first time.
If you have placed an order with ABSOLUTE360, we would be grateful if you could spare a few minutes to share your experience.
Every comment, suggestion and review helps us understand our customers better and supports our aim of continuing to improve.
Final Thoughts
New Year’s resolutions are often easy to make and much harder to maintain.
Whether the goal is to become more active, improve time management, learn something new or grow a business, enthusiasm alone is rarely enough. Progress usually depends on consistency and the willingness to keep going even when plans are interrupted.
My own resolutions for 2015 include becoming better organised and making more time for the ABSOLUTE360 blog.
If I succeed, you should be hearing from me much more regularly over the coming months.
More importantly, our resolutions as a company remain focused on the same principles that have guided us from the beginning: improving our products, listening to feedback and continuing to move ABSOLUTE360 forward.
There is plenty to look forward to in 2015, and we are excited to see what the year will bring.
