It’s the beginning of a new year, and there are a few things that you need to think about within the first few weeks. Most small business owners have a huge list of tasks that need to be done, but some of these items need to be bumped to the top of the priority list.
With a little bit of work, you can start the new year on the right foot. Here are a few important tasks that you need to complete early in the year in order to set your small business up for success.
Essential Small Business Tasks to Address in the New Year
1. Talk to Your Accountant
Are there any financial details that need to be handled from the previous year? If your business year is based on the calendar year, then you have a little bit of time to take care of financial concerns. These accounting tasks are usually focused on tax preparation so that you are ready to file your taxes in the New Year.
Your accountant can look to see how the numbers stacked up for the year. These reports will help you to make decisions about tax write-offs and other ways to manage your money. For example, if you want to bump your income into a lower tax bracket, then you might choose to buy office furniture or computer equipment before the end of the year.
Also, look at your personal taxes to see if you can offset your tax burden with retirement accounts. Your accountant will provide detailed information about the options that might be available.
2. Update Your Books
Make sure that you are caught up with all of the bookkeeping tasks, such as data entry for invoices and expenses. By staying current with these tasks, you can ensure that your year-end reports will be accurate and informative.
If you need to hire help for your small business, you might consider hiring a bookkeeper to assist with the data entry and reconciliation. You can use a service like upwork.com to hire contracted employees for a short period. Or, you could ask an employee to focus on this project through the end of the year.
3. Incorporate Your Small Business
Incorporating a business isn’t just for larger, established businesses. Incorporating your business is a strategic move that can help limit the business owner’s legal and financial responsibilities attached to the company. Incorporation also makes a business more attractive to investors, and investors play a huge role in extra capital for marketing and branding. Most importantly, incorporating your business can help you establish much-needed trust and credibility with potential customers. Letting it be known that your business has been incorporated is essentially like telling both your customers and your competition that you’re in it for the long haul.
4. Put Together a Marketing Plan
What steps are you going to take to boost your business this year? Evaluate what worked last year, and find ways to improve your approach in the New Year. It is essential to look at these goals before the end of the year so that you are ready to put in your full effort as soon as the New Year starts.
Here are a few tasks that you might consider working on:
-
Improve the branding of your business
-
Redesign your website
-
Put together a plan to reach out to former customers
-
Try a new advertising platform
-
Develop a new product or service to sell
As you are planning your marketing efforts for the year, make sure that you have a good logo to support your small business branding efforts. Try using our logo maker to create a professional logo for your business. We want to make it easy for your business to succeed this year, so you are invited to try our logo maker for free!
