January is the ideal month to take the time to show your business some love in the new year. Think of it as a clean slate to begin anew and just like personal resolutions, maybe your business needs one too?
If you haven’t already done this exercise, have a look at this post I wrote about strategic planning. It’s a great place to get a handle on the big picture. Then, there’s the practical list of to-dos as well. Here are some that you can tackle now to be sure that 2025 begins on the right note:
1. Website footer – if it isn’t set to automatically update to each new year, then you’ll have to do this manually. Your website is your public face and it’s important that it be a positive reflection of you. Just the other day I visited the website of a prospect and the year hadn’t been updated since 2018. Oh my. (Watch this Marketing Minute video.)
2. Google your business name – In the search window, enter your full business name and make sure that it shows up properly. Depending on the SERPs (search engine results pages), go a few pages deep. Once I did this and found out that my content had been hijacked by another page! (Can you say ‘cease and desist’ order?)
3. Check your Google Business Profile – Upon searching your business name, your profile should show up on the right-hand side of the first search page. Is it up to date? Have you moved? Are there additions you can make such as links to your social media accounts? Do your reviews show? If not, log in and make the necessary edits and updates to your listing. You can read more about Google profiles here and here.
4. Google your personal name – Just as above, put your own name in the search bar. Try all the combinations (middle name, middle initial, etc.) and see what comes up about you. FYI, if you have personal social media you’ll want to be sure that those settings are private so they don’t show up. In my opinion, only LinkedIn, Reddit, or Quora should be public as these are professional sites.
5. Test all forms – Oh, the horror stories I could tell. Please do this! Do the forms work? Do they come through correctly on the receiving end? Does the bounce back message need to be updated? Especially important are order forms, payments/donations, newsletter sign ups, event or other registration forms, etc. Six months ago I filled out the contact form to get pricing on branded promotional items from a local company. I’m still waiting for a reply. This is really, really bad. Not only do they lose a potential sales, but their reputation suffers when this happens too.
6. Fill in a calendar with important dates for the year – Keeping a calendar of important business dates such as your business anniversary, client birthdays, social media ‘holidays’, schedule your newsletter, social media posts, schedule time off (see #10 below), etc.
7. Clean up your lists – Log into your email provider database and purge the emails of those who haven’t opened your emails in months; if you have had bounce backs for bad email addresses, see if you can contact them in other ways to get updated contact information, do list segmentation to create ‘client’ list versus ‘prospects’ so you can better communicate with each segment.
8. Budgeting – Will you spend more or less on marketing this year? Do you know what worked and what didn’t from previous years? Even smaller items such as business cards (I recently attended a small business card exchange and ran out of all my cards), myriad office supplies, should be included. What software is renewing? Hosting/URLs typically renew yearly as well. Getting a handle on what’s coming due ensures there are no surprises.
9. Create/update your Marketing Binder – For the price of a three-ring binder, a package of plastic sheet covers, some tabs, and the investment of a few hours, the Marketing Binder is part emergency kit and part sanity saver for your business. Think of a Marketing Binder as an indispensable operations manual that keeps your business on track. This is especially helpful for clients who hire seasonal workers, interns, part-timers, or consultants like me, as you’ll likely be changing passwords frequently to secure your information. (Read my detailed post about this here.)
10. Plan for time off – Everyone needs to rest and recharge. Maybe it’s one day a month? Or (dare I say?) a real vacation? When we’re depleted, our mental health suffers and we can’t operate at our best. For those who work from home, it is especially difficult to do this. It took me years to get into the habit of not being always ‘on’ and available. Set clear boundaries with clients when you are and are not available.
As a solopreneur, taking the time to do these tasks at the beginning of each new year will reduce your stress levels, allow you to concentrate better, feel organized and less frantic.
Think of doing these things as a gift you give yourself. It’s so worth the time and effort to set yourself up for success.
Happy 2025!