How to Prep Your Business for the New Year
It’s the last month of the year!
Let’s end on a high note for your business!
Here are four things I do to prep for the new year to start fresh and organized.
Organize Your Books
Make sure all of your expenses are accounted for and your income is documented. This makes tax season go much more quickly if reported with your income or quarterly taxes. Rather than having to go through emails and try to remember an entire year of mileage or what random charges are for, you are ready to go and have every expense accounted for!
You can also see what your business income was like throughout the year and make projections and goals for the next year based on that growth.
Set Goals
I recommend setting different goals for different parts of your business. For instance, set goals for income, the number of projects or clients you take on, your social media marketing efforts, education you want to invest in, etc. The sky is the limit!
By setting goals for the year, you can then break them down into quarterly and monthly pieces that you can work towards all year long. And by setting your goals for the new year before it begins, you'll be already working towards those goals starting on January 1!
File Backup & Organization
If files are stored on your computer, have a backup option to store files so there’s no chance of losing your work form the previous year. I store all files on Dropbox, but I also have a separate hard drive that I back up a few times a year, plus flash drives for each year so I always have copies in case something happens to the original files.
I have template folders with subfolders and template files set up for different projects to save me time and stay organized with each project as well for the upcoming year! This is one way I set myself up for organized success the next year, where I don't have to create an organized system from scratch for each project.
Basically, find a system that works for you and stick with it so you can find the files you need whenever you need them. By backing up all your files and projects from the year, as well as setting up systems for the next year, you can be confident that all your hard work is secure and easily searchable down the road if needed.
Reflect on Your Year
Look back on the goals you had for this past year; what did you achieve and what worked well? Also vice versa, what things can you improve upon this next year? Celebrate your wins, appreciate the lessons, and recognize the growth and improvement that came over the last year! Start the next year with an optimistic outlook about how far you’ve come in the last year and what possibilities exist for the upcoming year.
These four actions I implement in Mangum Design Co. and I’ve seen a significant impact on how they bless my business every January! For more business tips, check out the blog and see what other practices have benefitted my business over the years.
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