Things business owners should start doing at the start of the year
Another year has gone and only you will know if it has been good or bad for your business. Whether you have had a year of growth, or the business has stagnated a little there are things you should be doing now that can affect the next year’s results.
Stop thinking short-term and regretting any mistakes from the last year. Learn by them and move forward if you want to be a continued success at the start of the year.
Set your goals
Break the year into four quarters and set goals for each three-month period. At the end of the period, review how far you have got towards achieving them and make any necessary adjustments for the next quarter. Be realistic with your goals, as if they are unachievable you will find it demoralising when you constantly fail.
However, when you reach an aim you have set it will motivate you and the next quarter you will do even better. When setting the goals, do not forget to allow for seasonal variations in your line of business.
In the aim for the last quarter of the year, you should include celebrations of what you know you will have achieved because you have the confidence for a great year ahead.
Plan your budget
Plan your budget for the year ahead. Of course, this will be affected by the goals you have set, but there are some things that will not alter. Go through all your expenses and see if any can be reduced. With things such as utility and communication bills, you might be able to get a better deal on just by making a couple of phone calls.
If you are unsure how to go about planning a budget, there are many online resources that provide templates to make the job simpler.
Promote your business
Businesses do not succeed without promotion. You should get onto some of the social media platforms to start with, as this is a free way to get your brand known. It is time-consuming for it to be effective, but when you start to see the results and get busier, you can always get a freelancer to help you with your social media management.
You could also use emails as a way of promoting your business. This is another method of getting your brand to a lot of people without it costing you a fortune.
Plan the Christmas party
Yes, Christmas might just have gone and you may be thinking it’s too early to even contemplate project Christmas parties 2019. But your staff work hard all year and they deserve a treat. So, the earlier your organise something the better chance there is of you getting the best venues, entertainment, etc.
Don’t give up
No matter how bad last year was for you, a new one has just started and you should be looking forward to it with great optimism. You are starting off this year with lessons learned from past mistakes, with a budget planned and with your aims written down to work to. Hopefully, you are promoting your business as well.
That is a brilliant way to start the year, and you should be looking forward to a brighter future.
