When most people make New Year’s resolutions, they’re focused on bettering themselves. Even if the local gym is more crowded in January than it is in February, the new year usually makes people feel like they have a fresh start from all the troubles they faced over the past 365 days. While resolutions aren’t typically applied to small business, who’s to say that you can’t give your company a little shot in the arm for the upcoming year?
Saying that your small business needs to “lose some weight” might scare some of your employees, but those aren’t the types of changes you should be making anyway. Instead, focus on sound business moves that, when made correctly early in the year, make the following months much easier to manage. Whether you’re buying promotional products or revisiting your taxes, check out these six essential business moves you need to make as early as possible in the new year.
1. Check your business plan
Remember this little guy? Way back when you first opened your doors, your business plan was practically your law. If you deviated from it, failure was assured. However, if it’s been a while since you gave your comprehensive strategy a once-over, the Huffington Post recommended every small business do this as soon as possible.
2. Start a 401(k) plan
If your business has grown to the point where your employees are willing to spend their careers at your company, Paychex explained that it might be time to start a fund to help your workers save for their retirements. This doesn’t have to be expensive, though – small businesses receive federal tax credits for the first three years after starting a 401(k) plan.
3. Trademark your brand
Sometimes, small businesses need to steal some tricks from retail giants to protect their interests from less scrupulous competitors, which is why BlackEnterprise.com recommended securing a trademark for all recognizable aspects of your brand. Maybe you have a logo that your customers have come to know you by, or perhaps you’ve spent a lot of time crafting and promoting a catchphrase for your business – if it’s working for you, make sure nobody else can steal it.
4. Create a promotions calendar
The last thing you want is to book a spot at a trade show only to find out that you’ve waited too long to order enough promotional products. That’s why it’s so important to start the new year off by sitting down and creating a comprehensive, year-long look at what personalized products you need to purchase and when. In fact, if you order early enough, you can keep one of Myron’s Barcelona Manager Date Log® Desk Calendars and use it to plan out the rest of your business activities for the year.
5. Make friends with the leaders
As a small business, it’s not reasonable to think that you’ll be able to take down retail giants that have dominated their industries for years. However, BlackEnterprise.com explained that by buddying up to them on social media, you can help elevate your brand’s presence by piggybacking off of the larger company’s household name status and bigger audience.
6. Purchase new equipment
If you’ve been putting off buying a new fleet of computers for the office, the Huffington Post explained that sooner is always better than later when it comes to in-office efficiency. Buy everything your office needs now to benefit from the increased productivity of your employees now that they’ve finally received what they’ve been clamoring for.