Don't waste the Christmas holiday break

Holiday time when you are completely switched off is a great time to take an hour out of your day and just think about your business. Think about what you want to achieve in the following year and take time to jot your ideas down. It may be a 10% increase in sales, it may be the launch of a new product or service, it may be to cut costs in certain areas or start up a new branch. The list goes on.

A few days later, sit down with your list and prioritise those things you have written down. In another few days just jot down a few notes as to how you might achieve those goals. So in a few relaxing hours, you have the nucleus of a mini-business plan for the following year. You can of course spend more time on it, but the idea of a break is to actually relax. So don’t become a slave to it – just use the time to collect your thoughts so that you hit the floor running when you get back to work.

And by the way, one of the first things you should be doing when you get back is formulating your budget and plan for the next financial year. Don’t leave it until April – that is too late. January is generally a quiet time for most businesses, so use the time effectively and make sure your business is well placed to take advantage of the opportunities in 2017.