As the New Year approaches most business owners wrap up past business, reflect on accomplishments, and set new goals. It’s a time for fresh beginnings, renewed energy, and ambitious plans.
Consider these company resolutions to prepare your business for a prosperous and productive year.
Resolution #1: Get It Done
We all have those things that we put off doing. It might be shredding old papers, deleting old emails, or updating contact lists. Eliminate clutter, delegate tasks to others, and automate processes.
Resolution #2: Review & Brainstorm
Year end is the ideal time to review company financials. Also look at KPIs to determine what worked, what didn’t, and why. Prepare a detailed summary and document past mistakes to learn from them and build a stronger future.
Brainstorm with your team to improve methods or find alternatives if products or services failed to meet expectations. Create timelines for marketing, special events, and product or service launches, put them on a calendar, and share the calendar with all involved parties.
Resolution #3: Strategize & Set Goals
Now that you’ve determined what you want to do for the coming year, it’s time to decide how you’re going to do it. For instance, if your company wants to increase revenues by 10 percent, create a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Based) goal to achieve this. This includes breaking down large goals into smaller, more easily achieved actions.
As an example, you might establish the overarching goal mentioned above, but also create goals for each quarter.
Resolution #5: Prepare for Tax Time
The due date for corporate tax forms is April 15th, 2020. While this may seem a distant concern, there’s plenty to do. Your company must mail paperwork to employees and contractors by January 31, so that typically involves a meeting or discussion with your accountant or bookkeeper as early as possible.
Resolution #6: Prepare for the Worst
If your business doesn’t have a business preparedness plan, you definitely need one. No business owner wants to face a disaster, but ignoring the risk could severely impact your business and its continuity.
A business disaster plan analyzes potential risks and how your company will respond and recover afterwards. This toolkit offered by disastersafety.org covers the basics for an effective plan.
Companies with an existing disaster preparedness plan should update it at least annually and more often if your business faces additional risks due to growth or change.
Resolution #7: Protect Your Business
Laws affecting business constantly change and non-compliance isn’t an option. Contact your accountant and attorney to discover whether any change is in the works for 2020 and how it could potentially affect your business.
Another important consideration is business insurance. Companies evolve and insurance needs often surpass basic policies such as commercial property and general liability policies. A thorough insurance review with an independent insurance agency like ours will ensure that your coverage aligns with your business needs. We’ll analyze risks and suggest policies or additional coverage to close insurance gaps.
If company revenues have increased, you’ve added more equipment or property, you offer additional products or services, or you employ more people insurance coverage needs to change too. Workers’ compensation insurance may be a new requirement or you may need commercial auto insurance if employees are on the road.
Businesses grow and change and so do the risks they face. Insurance should evolve throughout the business’s life and there’s no one-size-fits-all product. Schedule an insurance review to protect your business and start the New Year off with peace of mind.
