How to get your business ready for the year ahead

Whilst there are no guarantees of success when it comes to starting up and running a business, putting some time and effort now into getting yours ready for the year ahead is a great way of increasing the odds in your favour!

Perhaps your business started out as a side hustle and has grown from there? If this is the case, it may be tricky to make the transition to a fully professional, financially independent company. Being an entrepreneur and a ‘natural born organiser’ do not necessarily go hand in hand. But being organised and putting time into planning can play a vital part in helping your business to survive and thrive in 2020.

January is a great month to take stock and get organised for the year ahead, so here we’ve compiled some tips on helping you to coordinate your small business…

Define your goals and plans

Writing your short and long-term goals down and having them visible will help you to stick to them.

Keep yourself (and others) motivated

Build a happy work environment for yourself and others – this is likely to improve productivity and presents your business in a positive light to customers.

We’re midway through what some see as the gloomiest month of the year, with Christmas but a distant memory (aside from the bills!), a long way to go until pay day, and outside dark, wet and cold. What’s more, Monday 20^th January has the dubious distinction of being this year’s ‘Blue Monday’; allegedly one of the most depressing days of the year.

Boost your office’s morale by finding time to celebrate a business achievement this month. Be more flexible with your team (they’ll appreciate it this month more than ever!) and hold a planning meeting to set a positive tone for the year ahead

And why not get involved in some corporate volunteering or consider linking with a charity? The positive impact this can have on everyone involved is huge.

Plan according to your business needs

Schedule what tasks need doing daily, weekly, monthly and even yearly, and automate these where possible.

Organise your office environment

We’re all aware of the need to declutter at home, but the same is true for our working environment. Invest in proper storage (make the most of wall space and go vertical if possible!) and take time to process your paperwork. Make sure any loose cables are also tidied away or clipped.

Organise your computer desktop, tame your email inbox, make sure your files are backed up and ensure your anti-virus software is up-to-date.

Give your well-being a boost with some plants. Adding greenery to your office space can reduce stress and noise levels, and improve air quality.

Honour your commitments

Pay invoices and make deliveries in good time. Ensure you take care of expense receipts and get tax returns filled out and submitted on time.

Keep in touch with customers and prospects

Send regular (but meaningful) notes, and call out particular success stories. Invest time in networking with similar businesses; these relationships could well help you build your business in the future.

Lastly, use tech as much as possible

There are many Apps out there that can help you and your business get organised, such as Slack (for team communications), Trello (for projects), Dropbox (for storage and file transfers) and Go To Meeting (for conference calls).

And Parcelforce can help you get further organised:

1. Register with us online and we’ll save your address details and order history. Plus you can pre-load payment or card details for quicker parcel bookings
2. Integrate your marketplace accounts with Parcelforce to allow your sales to pull through automatically and speed up your parcel bookings. Plus benefit from our fantastic flat rates when you use integrate
3. Encourage your recipients to download our App to track and manage their parcels