This is going to be an interesting year. We are going into our 10th year of a big bull stock market, and that is a good two years more than the last three bull markets lasted. The market has also had a

Moms are usually right about these things.

New Year’s is a great time of year for looking at your calendar and laying out your projects to grow your business or reduce cost. We have planned events through September and I can tell you it will be an exciting year with new events and opportunities.

Here are some things we have been thinking about for 2018 which you may want to consider for your own business.

  1. Review where your money went for expenses this year and see what worked and what didn’t work. Obviously, make changes where you can. We do a lot of advertising on Facebook but didn’tdollars into new marketingFacebook’sThe point is we can all become complacent doing the same things we’re doing even though they aren’t producing as well now.
  2. Look at some of your products or services you offered last year and see if you should consolidate, eliminate, or reallocate funds to your best products marketing. This happens often, particularly when you have had a long ride with one product and it is time to see what may have changed it or how it can be refreshed with a new story.
  3. Get testimonials you got from your new customers this year and update some of the older ones you may have been using that are not as good. Every time Nick makes a new film, he makes a point to get a testimonial and they are freshly aligned with our product.
  4. Ask yourself how long it has been since you wrote something new about your business and got it published. This is getting easier to do because there are many magazines that have content needs 24/7, not just once a month. Wepublishing with Entrepreneurketing that you don’t pay for. Very credible.

  1. Look at each of the products or services you offer and see if there is an add-on to it that would bring in more dollars just by asking the customer if they would like this service as well. It works, and I am sure you have had it done to you. The key is to make the add-on improve what the person just bought and the price is low enough to be irresistible.
  2. Consider raising your prices, particularly if you have been in business for awhile. Often, we all startup with a product or service that is priced lower than it should be and it sells extremely well. Don’t be afraid to reassess the price since you were probably too low in the first place. If you are concerned about losing some good clients, keep your existing clients at the same rate and just raise the price for new customers.
  3. Do a cost audit of your business and see if things have changed at a lower rate. Let me give a shot out to our client Kevin Hodes who worked on me for a year to prove he could save us 1{cd266c1509fca34f59dc93da7daf12a6ee52c6401aabb2126e757d9de7c223fc} on our credit card processing fees. He did, it was a great savings and his service is so much better ([email protected]) and you can touch base with him yourself. And no he doesn’t give me a referral fee either…maybe he should 😉
  4. Before you hire a new employee, test remote employees. This has been a very big cost saving for us particularly in the graphic design, sales and other functions that the person does not have to be present in the office to do their job. FrequentRemote workers is a continually growing and changing trend in the marketplace, as freelancers can be found in many instances. They like the freedom they get and can have flex hours or more hours if they want. It just makes lots of sense. Right now, I am working remotely today as is Nick, Greg, and Lindsay.
  5. Pay attention to the new tax bill if it passes. There are some items that may benefit you, like the much lower tax if you get your income from an LLC tight employee. If the bill goes through you could, depending on your circumstances, save as much as 15-20{cd266c1509fca34f59dc93da7daf12a6ee52c6401aabb2126e757d9de7c223fc} on the amount of taxes you pay. It might never pass, but the point is, look closely when the act does pass and look for benefits you can immediately get.
  6. rong suit, he was of course right . It’s really amazing how it mounts up, not to mention you’ll meet a lot of great people and make your life more fulfilling at the same time. If you are sitting there without a plan, at least give this one a shot and let me know at the end of the year how it worked for you.

Here’s to a great New Year for you and your family, and we here at the Agency love having you as part of our extended family. Thanks for being part of it!

About the Author

JW Dicks

JW Dicks, Esq. is the nation’s foremost expert on personal branding, an Attorney, Wall Street Journal Best-Selling Author®, Entrepreneur and Business Strategist. JW has been called the “Expert to Experts,” written over 43 books, and is Editor and Publisher of ThoughtLeader® Magazine. He is an Emmy® award-winning Executive Producer and a member of the XPrize Innovation Board. For more information about JW or personal branding please visit www.celebritybrandingagency.com.