What All Start Ups Should Do for the New Year

As the New Year is in swing, many businesses should follow a few housekeeping rules.  Why? It’s no surprise that the U.S. is on the edge of a fiscal cliff.  Without financial recovery, we will fall into an even deeper financial hole. Also, we are about to experience the biggest tax increase in history.

So how does this affect business? Primarily, A new year offers the chance for a fresh start and the same can be said for your business.  Therefore, reassess your company and make the necessary changes moving forward. Secondly, with higher taxes comes lower payroll. Ultimately, the consumer will have a less disposable income which will decrease consumer spending, causing businesses everywhere to make less profit.

Below is a nonexhaustive list of tasks all start ups should do this new year.

First, businesses should reassess their business plan. Review your mission statement goals and expectations for the month ahead, both short term and long term. All of these items are key to the identity of a business and really affect your business brand.

Second, update your financials. When a business closes the books for the year, it should step back and ask the bigger question: what picture is the business in financially?  It should even go a step further and have a disaster recovery plan which allows it to bounce back (no matter how small) if your plans do not pan out.

Third, evaluate and update the social media strategy. Social media is a great tool to promote and grow a business and its brand. It should decide whether its current efforts are helping the business and if it should do more than it already is.

Fourth, a business should make an inventory check. Not only should a business count all the physical items within the business, but it should think about what it needs more of, or could get rid of. If the business is up to a level where it needs in house legal counsel and does not have it, then it should add that to its inventory.

Fifth and lastly, a business should always gauge its members' performance. How is everyone doing? Are they accomplishing goals and helping the business grow positively? A team is only as strong as its players.

Mastering your books and planning ahead is always a great game plan for success!