Start Fresh
While I don’t believe in New Years Resolutions per se, I do love the feeling of endless opportunity once January 1st hits. I don’t know about you, but I usually start the year promising myself to take care of all of the things that I kept pushing to the side over the course of the year.
And, even though we’re creeping towards the beginning of March, it doesn’t mean we should lose the excitement and drive to check these things off and start the process of pushing it to the side til next year
I wanted to give an overview of the common themes we hear from clients that are seeking that “on-top-of-it” feeling and looking to get some strong business infrastructure in place.
Set Goals
Setting goals is a critical component of any business, regardless of size. At Willow Oak, we use the OKR model – but there are a lot of ways to set them up. They help you stay on track, and allow you to review areas of your business that are hindering your ability to get to the next level. In addition, setting clear goals that you can communicate to your team
Get your Documentation in Order
If you’re hiring employees and don’t have the right documentation in place, you can be exposing yourself to serious legal risk. While we’re not lawyers, we can help provide you with basic templates that can help mitigate that risk and allow you to rest assured you are communicating expectations to your employee clearly.
Photo: @stilclassics
Balancing the Books
We are over three months in, are your books up to date? Make a goal of balancing your books every month by the 5th business day of the following month. This means if you haven’t done February yet, now is the time!
Audit your Expenses
Now is a great time to audit those expenses. Willow Oak has this on the top of our list for Quarter One to ensure we will have success meeting our financials goals this year.
You can find all your expenses within a time frame by looking at your profit and loss report in your accounting system. Review each category to understand what is making up those totals. Eliminate or reduce any expenses that may not be serving your business any more.
Pro tip: check those dues and subscriptions. This is a hot category that tends to carry outdated subscriptions.
Create a Company Mantra
At Willow Oak, we spent last summer coming up with our Mission, Vision, and Values. Creating these are an incredible way to communicate the journey you are on to your employees, and even to yourself on days when you’re not feeling inspired. They focus you on a destination and give you tools to help you get there, and truly give your company a voice and let its personality shine.
Just remember – it’s never too late to start fresh! If you need help in any or all of these areas, don’t hesitate to reach out!
Photo: @stilclassics