Doesn’t time fly? It doesn’t seem two minutes since people were buying the last bits and bobs for Christmas and, all of a sudden, we’re at the end of January with only memories of the Christmas dinner and gifts we were treated to. Many people will have made New Year resolutions as the midnight gongs sounded, but whether they stuck to them is a whole different question. Research by ThinkMoney in 2013 found that 26.5million people across the UK would make a New Year resolution to carry them through the year, with 2% of them giving up by the end of New Year’s Day! 21% of these people said that they intended to stick with these resolutions throughout the year, and while it’s certainly a nice idea, it can be incredibly difficult to actually achieve.
As a business owner in 2014, you may have been tempted to make a resolution or two of your own. Perhaps you’re just starting out and have made resolutions that coincide with business objectives that you plan on reaching, or maybe you’re already running a business and have realised, over recent months, ways in which to improve it. While it may be the end of January, it’s not too late to make a change – here are five popular business resolutions, and advice on how you can keep on top of them. Who knows, maybe 2014 will be your year!
Reduce your overheads
Is there something eating away at your overheads that you don’t need to be paying for? Perhaps you’re a one man band paying for office space when there’s a perfectly good spare room at home, or you’re paying for insurance that you don’t need. Take a look at the various business insurance packages from Hiscox and make a note of the policies that you definitely need, and make sure you’re not paying out for ones you don’t.
Be more environmentally friendly
This can help you to reduce your overheads, too. By being a little more energy efficient in all that you do, from turning off lights and equipment when you don’t need them, to implementing energy saving, green and sustainable products around the workplace, you’ll not only save money but you’ll also be helping to make a positive change in the environment.
Communicate with your staff
Involve them in decision making, let them have a voice and organise monthly meetings so that you can brainstorm and discuss issues and progress reports. This can not only make them feel more worthwhile, but will also improve your efficiency as a business.
Give your website a onceover
It’s good practice to look at and modify your website regularly anyway, but if you haven’t, now is a great time to do it. Give your site a bit of a spring clean, make sure content is up to date, informative and engaging and delve into social media if you haven’t already.
Stay on top of your paperwork
Ensure that your accounts and paperwork are kept on top of throughout the year so that when it comes to doing your tax return, or meeting with the accountant, you have everything in the right place ready to go. Use a decent filing system, rather than a drawer in your desk, and keep spreadsheets, or use specialist software, to keep track of invoices and payments.
Continue through the New Year following the above, as well as any individual goals and resolutions you have set, and watch as your business grows from strength to strength through 2014!