With the sun shining and the prawns on the barbie, December is the time of year when most Australians step out of the rat race for at least a couple of weeks.
As a business owner, you should be prepared for the drop in trade, especially if this is something that happens every time December rolls around.
If you’re not planning a lot of time off yourself, the December holidays are actually an excellent opportunity to spend some time working ‘on’ your business.
Drawing from our 52 Ways workshop, here are 7 things you can do which will set your business up for success in 2019:
1. Set your goals
What exactly do you want to achieve in the next twelve months? Perhaps it is a global expansion, perhaps it is a 20 percent increase in profits. Perhaps you simply want more time to yourself.
Whatever it is that you want, take the time to write your goals down. Then, write down some steps you will take to achieve these goals. And jot some notes about how you will reward yourself when they are ticked off.
2. Get educated
Now’s the time to brush up on the business skills you wish you had! You can read, watch or listen to business education content even while you’re lying by the pool.
The more you earn, the more you learn so create a list which highlights your knowledge gaps and see where you can find some up to date tutorials.
3. Reach out to new contacts
Is there anyone out there you have a feeling could really help your business? Why not send them a message, or at least draft something up and have it ready to send when the school holidays end and everybody heads back to work.
You can use a free plugin like ClearBit to find the email address of almost anyone on the planet. When you email them, be polite and compliment their work before requesting a few minutes of their time.
4. Craft your content marketing strategy
Forward planning is the key ingredient for success when it comes to blogging for your business. Why not have a brainstorm and come up with six-twelve months of content?
You can delegate the writing to someone on your team who is not taking time off, or find a freelancer who is working during the shutdown period. Once you have your blogs, schedule them to go live regularly on your website. Job done!
5. Figure out the social stuff
The days of adding posts to Facebook and hoping your audience would see them are behind us. Now, you have to pay to play.
We see this as a good thing as it means only the brands which are serious about reaching out to their audience will surface as ads on Facebook.
You can create ads which are targeted to a highly specific audience, and will even been shown to people who have already expressed an interest in your business.
Want to know more? Book your ticket to the next 52 Ways workshop, coming soon to a city near you.
6. Hire that VA
Is 2019 the year when you finally stop doing everything yourself? Handing over smaller tasks to a Virtual Assistant can give you hours back in time and free you up to focus on growing your business.
Over the December break, write a detailed job description and take the time to sort through applicants. You may also be able to spend some time training your new VA so they can hit the ground running next year.
7. Work on your systems
Great businesses have things written down and easily accessible so that team members don’t have to ask someone every time they are faced with a new task.
This December, think of ten things which your staff have to do often. These can be as simple as collecting the mail from the Post Office, or as complex as managing staff superannuation payments.
Create some step by step instructions for these and you’ll never have to teach anybody how to do them again!
Finally, don’t forget to take some time for yourself! Even entrepreneurs need a break so grab some of those fresh prawns and put your feet up — you deserve it!
