With the new year comes the inevitable - a set of new year resolutions, often swiftly followed by a host of excuses as to why they weren’t possible, realistic or convenient. Even so, the new year is a good opportunity to look at the way you undertake all aspects of your business, from finding new work to planning your time to keeping your accounts. And to improve your chances of actually sticking to your resolutions why not pick just one a month for the year ahead – write one across the top of each month of your calendar and you never know, you might actually see them through!
Here are a few steps you could take over the course of the year to help run your business more effectively:
Set yourself some goals
Do you feel that you met your goals in 2007? Did you actually have any goals in 2007? Many small businesses run from day to day without a clear plan of where they are going and what they are trying to achieve. Setting yourself some goals and planning what steps you need to take to achieve them is a powerful way to move your business forward and give you a clear understanding of what you have achieved when you look back at the end of the year.
Improve your business procedures
Having efficient procedures for every part of your business can mean the difference between a hectic, stressful office life and feeling in control and on top of your work. Take the opportunity to look at how you do even the smallest of tasks – small changes could have a big impact on your effectiveness and can reduce mistakes as well as your stress levels.
Ask a client for a referral
Self promotion is an important part of finding new work for any business owner, and people generally trust recommendations from other people more than any form of advertising. With small businesses and freelancers often relying on referrals for a large proportion of their new business, asking for a referral from an existing client could be an easy way to boost business in the new year.
Learn something new about business
Every day is a school day, so the saying goes. Are there areas of your business knowledge you wish were stronger? If so why not put aside some time to learn something new. We can’t expect to be experts in everything, but there are plenty of resources out there to enable those with even the smallest amount of spare time to learn something new that can help them run their own business more successfully.
Make contact and network
Nobody better understands the challenges you face than other freelancers and business owners in the same position as you. Making the effort to contact others could lead you to new business opportunities or a wealth of advice from those who have been there and done it before. It could even help to build your reputation as an industry expert who is willing to share their experience with others - if nothing else you may make a friend or two!
Take time to explore the Web
Allocate some time to click a few extra links and delve that bit deeper into the web, you may find a site or blog that inspires you, teaches you something new or just brightens up your day. You might even stumble across another resource as useful as Network Freelance!
Wishing you a happy and successful 2008, from all at Network Freelance.
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