How to Prep Your Business for the New Year

Photo by STIL

It’s that time of year again! That time when you have a moment to refresh, unwind, and reevaluate where you’d like to go in the coming year. You might already have a plan or idea of where you’d like to go personally, but it can be hard to know where to start when it comes to your business. If you’re anything like me, you can never be too prepared. That’s why I put together a short list of some things you can do this month to set yourself up for success in the new year.

Automation

Automation is quickly becoming the next best way to organize your business and free up your life. By using software that completes tasks on an “if-then” basis, you can increase your productivity and efficiency of certain tasks and eliminate time better spent elsewhere. 

EMAIL AUTOMATION

The first and easiest place to start is email automation, which allows you to follow up with individual customers automatically and offers all the marketing strength of your traditional emails. Reach the right people at the right moment by providing a customer with relevant, engaging content right after they interact with your site or connect with you. They’ll not only be further down the sales funnel but will also feel a more personal connection to your brand! 

Here are a few examples of ways you could automate your email this new year:

Implement welcome series emails for new customers 

Send Happy birthday or anniversary emails to inspire loyalty and retention

Nurture series emails to guide customers through the sales funnel 

Ready to get started? Head to MailChimp’s article for an in depth look into setting up email automation!

ADMIN TASKS 

It’s easy to get caught up in little things when running your business- the emails, bills, appointments and day-to-day tasks that might feel like work but aren’t actually making you money. That’s why it’s so important to organize and automate these tasks to keep things moving and let you get back to the real work (cha ching!). 

Since we’re on the topic of emails, try setting up labels (Gmail has a great smart labels system) that will automatically sort emails when they come in. That way you can keep track of what’s important and what can wait. Many email servers also have template features, so you can create canned responses for emails you might be responding to repeatedly. 

When it comes to bills, set up auto-pay to streamline your payments so you never have to worry about forgetting to pay a bill on time. This way you can focus more on other tasks and less on those bills that you (reluctantly) have to pay. 

Another way to automate your work is to streamline admin tasks within your team by using Trello automations. Trello’s Butler feature will allow you to add anything from “add this task to my To Do card every Monday” to “move this card to my intern’s board once I tag it as complete.” Our friend Amy over at PaperFinch is crazy about these automations, so check out her blog here to get the inside scoop! 

Photo by Joyce McCown

Vision Board and Mind Mapping

Vision boards are the perfect way to visually represent where you want to be in a year. And who knows, it could be the reason your resolutions stick! Take a few hours after the holiday chaos to sit and really reflect on your goals for this coming year- sure, you’ve got some resolutions in mind, but what do you really want to achieve this year and how can you build goals you’ll really stick to? 

Big questions! 

Here are a few places to start:

Review how to set yourself up for success with our recap on making resolutions that’ll stick. Then head over to our New Year’s Workbook, where you can reflect on 2019 and map out all of your goals for 2020. Finally, once you’re ready to put those awesome goals into action (and art), make a vision board! 

Photo by Christin Hume

Re-evaluate Your Tools

Quit spending money on things you don’t need this year by re-evaluating the tools you use on a daily basis. Be sure to check the following programs that might be sneakily draining your bank account: 

PHONE APPS

Head to your iCloud subscriptions to make sure you aren’t paying recurring fees for apps you don’t use anymore (those free trials will get ‘cha!).

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Beyond your phone, check to see if you have any forgotten subscriptions out there that might be draining your bank account. Do you use all the streaming services or music apps you pay for? Did you order Real Simple three years ago and really just don’t read it? For an easy way to do this, connect your accounts to Truebill to automatically pull info on all your subscriptions.

SOFTWARE PLANS

Take a minute to re-evaluate the software plans you use. Do you need to be on the most expensive plans? Is there a new program out there that might offer more at a better price? These can get pricey, so make sure it’s worth it! 

Photo by CoWomen

Considering Adding on Help

A new year means it’s time to re-evaluate your work load and company needs. Did you feel overwhelmed this year? Making it a goal to spend more time with the fam? Hoping to grow your business?

Consider adding on help to manage the workload and open up time for you to do more. Whether it’s an intern, virtual assistant (we’d love to have you!) or part-time help, take the time to research costs and consider what might be necessary to meet your business’ needs and goals. 

Photo by Kelly Sikkema

Get Your Financials Together

‘Tis the season! For taxes that is. Be sure to start early, you never know what problems might arise or what forms you might be missing. We’d recommend getting everything together by February so you can have your taxes done! before March even rolls around. Start by gathering your information like business expenses, payroll, and prior tax forms in early January and go from there. 

It’ll also be a good idea to start considering whether you’re going pro or DIY- most small business owners might find it easiest to do their own taxes, but if you’re new to the game or just prefer more guidance, a pro route might be the way to go. 

For a more complete overview, check out Discover’s article on prepping your small business for tax season. 

These tasks might seem small, but considering them now and implementing them in the new year will make those first few weeks back so much more efficient. If you’ve got plans to grow, places to be, and people to see, taking the time to prepare now will be the ultimate payoff later!

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