Well the final day of the 2020 year has arrived and the New Year’s Resolutions start to be made…….
Ahhh, yes the humble New Year’s Resolutions – how often do they come unstuck because of a lack of planning?
Do you do New Year’s Resolutions for your business (aka a business plan)?
What New Year’s Resolutions do you have for your small business?
Most businesses don’t realise that success in January starts long before the first of the New Year.
It takes plenty of work and planning to set your year up right.
Here are several items you should start checking off your list starting today so you can usher your small business into the New Year in full flight:
- Set Your Business Resolutions
New Year’s resolutions are not all about losing weight. It is beneficial to lay out what you want for your business in the coming 12 months. Be specific, so you can actually measure results and see whether you accomplished them by year’s end.
- Revisit Your Business Plan
If it has been a while since you examined this critical document, now’s the time to get to it. Review it to ensure it’s still aligned with your current company goals. Change what needs changing. And if you never had one, message me and I’ll help you to develop one.
- Build a Promotions Calendar
Sit down with a calendar and start looking at all the holidays or events you want to build promotions around. This will give you ample time to plan your social media updates, blog posts, advertising campaigns, etc.
- Consider Your Hiring Needs
If your business is getting increasingly too busy for you to run with a skeleton crew, start planning your hiring strategy for 2018. Consider temps, subcontractors, virtual assistants, and part-timers as alternatives to full-time employees if your budget is tight.
- Invest in Technology
If you’ve been putting off that computer or software purchase, now’s the time to go ahead with it. You’ll be more efficient, if you have a computer that doesn’t take an hour to load.
- Create a Conference/Seminar Plan
Attending conferences, seminars and industry trade shows can be so beneficial for you as a business owner. Not only can you meet others in your field (or potential customers) but you also learn from leading experts. Do some digging to see what’s available to attend in 2018, and put them on your calendar.
- Reassess Your Online Brand
Google yourself! Is it time for a new headshot or website refresh? What worked for you in terms of marketing this year? This is a great time to tweak your online strategy so that you identify the tools that helped your business grow, and cut back on those that don’t.
- Refresh Your Teams’ Skills
If you do have a team, now’s a fantastic time to offer supplementary training to refresh their skills or give them new ones. Maybe they’re not all using your customer relationship management software. That’s the perfect topic for training.
- Get Smarter
Your team members aren’t the only ones who could learn more. If the end of the year is quiet for you, build in reading time. Read industry blogs, books, magazines, and anything
else you can get your hands on to be on top of the trends in your industry.
- Get Organised
If you’re like a lot of business owners, your desk is cluttered, and so is your desktop – you should see my inbox even though I have read them all, I need to move, store or delete them to clear it. Spend a few hours throwing away and shredding things you don’t need and organising your computer files by year, i.e. Leads 2021. It will make things easier to find.
I guarantee you’ll feel more together come January or whenever you start back!
Have an awesome celebration today/tonight and stay safe.
See you next year!
