Meet you accountant with up to date figures – you might need to spend some money to reduce your tax liability. 

Get their feedback and advice on the next financial year!

A checklist for making 2013/14 the best year yet for your business

1. Do you need to get financial advice regarding your tax liability for the 2012/13 year? It might be a good idea to call fellow ‘Brain’ Dean Murphy or your accountant for advice that could save you more than their fee. Check your legal structure is still appropriate and is there anything to change to improve performance in the year ahead.

2. Do you understand your current financial status? Take a look at your year to date figures and if you have been in business for a few years compare them. How much profit did you make, where did it come from, is it what you expected? Take the time to understand your finances and make sure you are managing them so they don’t manage you.

3. Is this what you still want to be doing? Is it supporting your dream lifestyle? How is your health, how is your relationship with yourself and your family and friends? Take stock and list the pros and cons of running your business to check you are on track.

4. What needs to change? What worked in the last 12 months. What didn’t work. What is blocking you? Take the time to pull your head out of the business and take a look around. Henry Ford said ‘ Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal’. Refine your goals or write new ones for the 2013/14 financial year.

5. What are the 5 Key actions you need to focus on for the coming year to make your business, yourself, your family and community thrive? Make sure your actions include taking time out for yourself. A tired business owner has a tired business. I notice that when my business owner clients take time off they often end up making more money as they return refreshed and ready to take on the challenges.

This is a perfect time of year to form new habits……enjoy the benefits refocussing provides.

Top Tip

Take stock at the end of the financial year and make sure running your own business is still working for you.

Perhaps you need some tips on how to make the most out of your day.

Avoid distractions, be more productive and start making the most out of your day.

Some tips on how to create more time

• Use ‘To Do’ lists. Weekly list what you want to achieve & at the end of each day prepare your list for the next day.
• Manage interruptions and handle them effectively. Prepare what to say “Great to see you – I have a deadline in half an hour so do you mind if we catch up for lunch?”
• When you drop in or call someone ask “Is now a good time?” so you can support them to get the most out of their day.
• Don’t allow distractions to become an interruption. How do you get distracted? As you clean the kitchen, surf the net or read the junk mail consider the impact on achieving your ‘To Do’ list.

Take control by making a choice – wasting time, or getting things done?

Do you give an opportunity for clients to provide feedback?

Take a look at what you offer and spend this month improving it.

Archiving is an excellent opportunity to cull all your files and create the ‘space’ (both mental and physical) for new things in the year ahead. How often do you take the opportunity to archive?

Here are some guidelines:

Choose your archive boxes carefully – plastic protects archives from moisture and rodents but check for the rail either side to hang your files.

Clearly label each box on both ends and sides

Create a label with:

• Archive or Box Number
• Area of the business files are from
• Summary of Contents
• Year documents were created
• Year to be destroyed

Make a simple archive record by printing 3 copies of the label – 2 for the box and put one into a display book in number order.  Alternatively use Excel or Access to make it searchable

Recently a Sorted4Life Biz in a Box consulting client said Sorted4Life helped them to figure out how to pull apart, find cracks and put back together their work, life and business.

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“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change” Charles Darwin

Make sure you do it and back it up both on and off site.  Have you followed up all the leads generated last month?

Review and update.  Have fun setting new goals and challenges for the next 6 to 12 months and look at your long term goals.

In this short video, our business identities were asked what their most important pieces of advice would be for running a successful business.

Produced by Bendigo’s ‘Cornerstore Media Productions’, this is a series that every small business owner, or those aspiring to be one can greatly benefit from.

In this short video, our business identities share wise words somebody once told them.