Ah, December. The month of “New Year New Me” resolution creation. AKA my favorite time of year. Just like anyone, I do a lot of reflecting in the last month of the year, and it got me thinking about what I need to do to prep my business for the new year.
Based on my past experience, and what I will be doing personally, here are some things to consider for your own business:
• start a business account at your bank
This is something I put off for way too long. As a business owner, especially if you are a freelancer, it’s so easy to let business and personal mesh together, especially when it comes to finances. Having a separate bank account not only helps with taxes, it also helps compartmentalize business and personal.
• Set systems up in honeybook or another crm
Do this, right now. I personally love Honeybook. Follow this link for 50% off your first year! Before Honeybook, I had things in Trello, Google Drive, DocuSign, and Notes, and all of my invoicing was through PayPal. Now, I have EVERYTHING in HoneyBook, including invoicing and contracts. It’s a lifesaver.
• Revamp IG bio to match your current offerings
Take a look at your Instagram bio. Is it till accurate in regards to what you do now? If not, fix it! Freshen it up, add a different set of emojis, etc. One thing I HIGHLY recommend doing is ditching Linktree and creating a dedicated page on your website. This helps with SEO, brand consistency, and consumer trust.
• Make sure your brand is still in alignment with what your business is
Not only should you take a look at your IG bio, you should take a look at your brand as a whole! Do you still feel connected to it? If your website makes you cringe or your business cards make you hesitant to hand them out, it’s time for a rebrand. If your colors no longer “spark joy” when you look at them, it’s time to rebrand. Not sure if you need to rebrand? Let’s chat and I can help you decide what your next step should be!
• Focus on site speed (GTMetrix testing)
Slow websites are SO 2019. Time to make sure yours is in tip-top shape. There’s a simple tool called GTmetrix that tests your site speed in minutes. You can see how your site performs and why it’s slow, and it will tell you how to optimize it to make it go faster. It’s totally free!
• Organize your desktop
A clutter-free computer is a happy computer. I know you’ve been putting off going through your downloads and screenshots to delete the things you need. Been there! Schedule in 10 minutes this week to go through folders and clean it up. You’ll be surprised how far 10 minutes can go when it comes to decluttering a computer! You’ll thank yourself for it later.
• De-clutter your inbox
Use Unroll.me to unsubscribe from those pesky email lists that you don’t even remember signing up for. With Unroll.me, you can see a list of all your subscription emails and unsubscribe from whatever ones you don’t want to be subscribed to anymore. It’s as easy as a click of a button, and it’s totally free!
• Take note of auto payments for things like hosting, Canva, etc and get organized
There’s nothing that adds up quicker than small auto-payment subscriptions. Little “eh, it’s only $12.99 per month” things can add up super quicky. Take some time to write down all of your current subscriptions and decide if you still need them. Here are some of mine to get the ball rolling for you if you’re struggling to remember: HoneyBook, Canva Pro, Hautestock, Adobe Illustrator, GSuite, SiteGround, & Showit.
Not sure what you should be investing in when you first start out? Click here for 5 things you should avoid in the early part of your business.
• Plan to pay taxes quarterly
There’s nothing worst than getting to the end of the year and owing THOUSANDS of dollars more than you originally planned for. A great way to combat this is by paying your taxes quarterly instead of all at once when they are due. It’s a great form of budgeting that I recommend to EVERY business owner.
Let me know if you. check any of these off your list or if you have something you think should be added in the comments below!
