The beginning of the New Year is the perfect time to take steps you know will improve your business. In some cases, they are things you know you should have done long ago. But it’s never too late. Now is the time to put your resolutions for 2018 into action.

Resolutions For 2018

Consider some of these resolutions for 2018. Some are basic, but we wouldn’t mention them if they weren’t vitally important.

Write a Business Plan

Seems simple, yes? But many small businesses never do it.  Business plan templates are available from many places, although perhaps the best place to start is the Small Business Administration. The federal agency offers plans that can help you think about everything involved with your business, as well as the possibilities for small business loans and lines of credit.

Even if you already have a successful year or two under your belt, now is the time to finally get a plan in place to support growth in the New Year.

Improve Digital Presence

Even ongoing web-based businesses can still improve their online footprint. Web pages need updating. Email lists need building. Landing pages need improvement to result in better conversion rates. This is a perfect time to assess all the updates and changes – both big and little – you have intended to make for your site but haven’t yet done.

Social Media

Yes, marketers continue to beat this drum. That’s because social media works. Think of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as town markets that encompass the entire planet. You can’t get better reach into your market segment. You want a presence there.

Hand-in-hand with creating a social media presence is also creating a way to get consistent content on your site. That can be done through a blog or a resource area for articles about your company and related issues. It’s a way to drive more traffic to your site, and it’s something you can link to from social media.

Improve Cash Flow

Cash flow issues end up being the cause of one out of every four businesses going under. Cash flow issues arise typically between the promise of eventual payment and the time between now and then – a time where a business still needs to invest in supplies, materials and personnel. Without the money to close that gap – here comes trouble.

If you want to succeed in business, you must understand and better manage cash flow.

Charge Your Worth

This almost always proves one of the hardest concepts for small businesses to put into action. One sale at $50 is easier than five sales at $10. Yet many entrepreneurs undercharge for their services – as many as 27 percent to a whopping 57 percent! With the New Year just around the corner, it’s a good time to assess your current prices and determine the impact even a small increase can make on your business.

It’s a New Year. Many business challenges lie ahead. But looking just at some of the issues above can ensure that you end 2018 in much better position than you started it.