Just like any other new year we start off with good intentions however the difference between success and failure depends on how hard we work at our resolutions. Sitting down and planning our goals for the year ahead is important and this planning time can help us achieve our goals. .
Goal setting helps us to visualise what we want to achieve in our business and what steps need to be taken to achieve these. Visualising what can happen if you don’t make goal planning a priority can be a good motivator for you to take positive actions.
Visualise this; what happens if you are constantly overspending in your business and personally life? The stress of not being able to pay your bills on time is one, which can then lead to penalties and interest being applied. It’s never pleasant when your holiday savings need to be used to pay down business debt.
What’s the solution?
Creating a budget and sticking to it. (check out our article on budgeting to help and the resource section for budget templates). It doesn’t matter whether you need to buy groceries or a new computer for the office. You want to make sure every spend is a good one. If you have created a budget where you can track income and expenses, you’ll know exactly what you can and cannot afford. For those on Xero check out the Xero Budget Manager .
What can you do to be able to afford what you want? Work on your business plan.
This new financial year make it a habit to work on your business plan and if you don’t have one yet, the best way forward is to create a business plan to help achieve your goals.
Your business plan will help you to look at all areas of your business from marketing to financials so you can set yourself goals to achieve. For example, if you need to increase revenue what actions can you take? Write them all down in your business plan as SMART goals. A business plan is a live document which means you can update it and improve as you go. Check out our article on Business planning tools to find an option that can help you.
A great tip for business planning and budgeting is to find a business advisor. The person you have to answer to when you don’t do what you say you’re going to do. It could be a business coach or your accountant, but it’s a great motivator when you have to answer to someone besides yourself.
Remember to include tax planning (income tax, GST, FBT, and provisional tax etc), which includes when you need to have returns done by, and ensure your payment plan is included in your budget. There is nothing worse than thinking you have enough money to book a great holiday to realise that you have a provisional tax payment due to next week and don’t have enough money set aside!
Need helpful templates and guides? Take a look at these informative resource links: