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A New Year is officially upon us, which means approximately 74% of Americans will make New Year’s resolutions of what we hope to change or achieve in the New Year. Still, only about 20% of us will actually stick to our resolutions. Many of us are SO eager to be done with 2020 for obvious reasons; there is no doubt that 2020 was a challenging year, but there are some practical lessons you can take from this year to improve your business in the year to come.

Pivoting is Key

“Life is 10 percent what you make it, and 90 percent how you take it” – Irving Berlin. 2020 has shown all of us, not just business owners, how very little control we have over anything. But what we do have control over is our reaction and how we react determines our level of success. We speak to many different business owners every day and the ones that have been successful this year are the ones that were able to let go of what they thought would be, pivot, and do something completely different. Many have leveraged technology, some have completely changed their business model, but all have decided not to be stagnant and not be frozen by their circumstances.

Numbers are More Important than You Ever Thought

Many business owners are so busy running the day-to-day operations of their business that keeping good financial records is put on the back burner. Although delivering that product or service is vital to your business, 2020 has proven that knowing where you spend your money is just as important. Knowing your monthly fixed expenses, how much it takes you to create your deliverable, applying for endless loans and grants—good recordkeeping, and having a proactive accountant are game-changers.

Do yourself a favor and plan to take 30 minutes a week to update your QuickBooks so you can have your financials ready for whatever life throws at you. Invest in a good accountant that can help you understand your profit margin, how much money you should keep in your business, how much you should save for taxes, etc., so you are informed to make key business decisions for the success of your company.

Relationships are Invaluable

Of course, we have all felt the isolation of a pandemic this year and value our family and friends more than ever. But having the right business relationships, a network of colleagues, and other business professionals can truly be invaluable. These are the people you can brainstorm with, create a new idea or product with, learn from, lean on, merge with– the options are endless. Business owners cannot do it all on their own; they will become mentally and physically burnt out. They need to have other entrepreneurs willing to share their expertise, tips for success, and help each other pivot in an uncertain world.

Happy New Year!! We wish you a safe, happy, healthy and successful 2021!

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