Now’s the time when people decide what they are going to change or resolve to do in the New Year. For small business owners, this is the perfect time of year to get a bird’s eye view of your business’s progress, its current situation, and where it’s heading. Here are our tips for coming up with new years resolutions that will help your small business get off to the best start possible in 2017.

Keep your business plan in sight

One of the most important elements of your small business is its business plan.

If you’ve been keeping your business plan “out of sight, out of mind” for a while; dust it off, read it carefully and update it to suit where your business is at now. Small businesses and the market are constantly evolving, and unless your business plan reflects the current climate it won’t be much use to you.

Get familiar with your numbers

Before you can really manage your business’s finances effectively, you need to have an understanding of where money is going in. Knowing the numbers that are relevant to your business helps you find the opportunities to grow and prosper – in addition to where the challenges in growing might be.

Simple accounting software is a great tool that’s useful for matching cash supply with planned outlays – something that’s very handy over the end of year period. The right software can also make it easier to invoice customers and ensure your staff are paid properly.

Update your website

Kick off the New Year with an updated and properly-optimised website. For many small businesses, updating the website can fall off the daily list of priorities easily, but making sure your website has the information your customers need is essential.

Learn the basics of Search Engine Optimisation and apply them to your website so potential customers have the best chance of finding you online.

Connect your site to Google Analytics to find out where your website visitors are coming from, what they are looking at and what they’re doing (like buying products) on your site. Google Analytics is a powerful free tool that helps you improve your website and tailor it to meet your customers’ needs as much as possible.

Give your office a refresh

Most business owners I know let their desk – and their computer desktop too, probably – descend into clutter and chaos.

Organise your files (physical and digital) and get rid of anything you definitely don’t need. That way, the things you will need at some point will be easier to find and your office can start the year with a clean slate.

Pick up some new knowledge

Christmas through to New Years is a quiet time for many businesses, so it could be a great chance to catch up on reading books, industry magazines and blogs so you can start the New Year armed with the latest information.