Now is the perfect time to prepare your business for the new year. Use the following checklist to take care of business tasks before year-end and get a jump on 2022. With these tasks off your plate, you can turn your attention to family, celebrating, and the things that matter most.
Take a Look Back
First, it’s good to check on your objectives for 2021. What were your revenue expectations? Did you meet your business goals throughout the year? With these benchmarks in place, you’ll have a better understanding of where you hit your mark, where you should have had more resources, and how you can improve moving forward.
Prep Finances
With your 2021 review in place, run a financial report, if you haven’t already, and schedule time with your accountant. This is a good time to create new revenue goals, a quarterly and yearly budget and then start preparing your tax documents.
Plan Ahead
It’s time to start setting goals for 2022. Did you meet all of your goals in 2021? Great! Perhaps you should set more demanding goals for your business next year. Do you still have a few goals that need to be completed? Start with those and then design an action plan that will help you get them marked off your list. Create an action plan around all of your first quarter goals and then set a kickoff meeting in early January so you can set everyone’s expectations early. This is also a good time to consider your 2022 marketing plans. Are there areas that you want to focus on or reassess? Do you need to update or freshen up digital materials and printing like brochures, business cards and signage? Do you want to target a new customer base? Create a list of topics to brainstorm with your team and decipher a prioritized list to tackle.
Employee and Customer Care
Keeping both employee and customer happiness a prime concern is a helpful tool that can benefit you throughout the year. Consider creating new year’s surveys to get a pulse on how they’re feeling and what issues they have and what they love that you could review. Now is also a great time to review and streamline your employee and customer files. Don’t forget to review the security and privacy measures you have in place for this info as well – personally identifiable information, or PII, should be password protected or kept under lock and key.
Lastly, don’t forget about planning for yourself. Create personal and professional goals for yourself and post them near your workstation. Also, consider when you’ll take vacation in 2022 and make sure to put a plan around running the business while you take time off. You can also schedule your regular doctors visits so you don’t miss that annual check up, dentist appointments and optometry exam. Don’t forget about checking in with groups, mentors and courses that could aid your professional growth. You are key to your business so your health and wellness are an important piece of the puzzle.
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