New Year’s Resolutions… have you thought of yours yet?

New Year Resolutions for 2019 for freelancers, contractors, the self-employed and business owners

Most of us will start the new year with a list of pious good intentions to try and atone for our Christmas overindulgence including all the December parties we just had to attend.

Convincing ourselves that 2019 will the year we finally get fit and rediscover the shape we had when we were 16-year olds, will go hand-in-hand with other resolutions including; stopping vaping and losing weight.

Staying sober until March (or until the first stressful day of the new year… which will likely be in the first week back) will no doubt feature prominently as well.

It is also well documented that most new year gym memberships don’t last past February and a lot of other resolutions don’t last that long.

Yet, if you are self-employed or you’re a business owner, you will no doubt want 2019 to be an improvement on 2018.

When it comes to your business it’s a good idea to set out clear goals and stick to them.

Write them down and refer to them on a regular basis. This way you may achieve some of your goals and aspirations in the coming year.

Here are a few helpful points to get you started;

Revisit your business plan

This is a great way to take stock of your situation and see if you are on track to achieve your original goals.

If you don’t have a business plan, make time to write one before you do anything else. It will help to keep you focused on the bigger picture and give you something to measure your activities and achievements against during the year.

It might be that you’ve already exceeded your original business goals and need to think about some new ones to take your business to the next level of success.

If this is the case, you will also need to review your business insurances to ensure they will still cover your needs. Mid-term adjustments to insurance policies are common when businesses grow and increase their revenues.

Call our team on 0333 321 1403 to discuss any adjustments you require.

Engage with a business mentor

Running your own business is difficult and there will be times when you need to ask questions out loud that you don’t have the answers to. You will also want to bounce ideas off a like-minded individual to gauge whether your plans are viable business options.

A business mentor can help you with this and push you to ask deeper questions about your business and yourself that will help to yield new ideas and look at problems from a different perspective.

Make more time for yourself

When you work for yourself, it is easy to get carried away, lose sight of time and work 12+ hours a day.

In the same day you can be networking over breakfast, producing the work in the morning, meeting clients over lunch, pitching to new clients in the afternoon, then invoicing and chasing payments at the end of the day.

Then, when the phones have stopped ringing after 5pm, you might spend a couple of hours updating your accounts. Sound familiar?

Wherever possible try and make some time for yourself and your family. You’ll be thankful you did.

Taking yourself away from the grind will help to keep you focused on what’s important and prevent burnout.

Take regular breaks throughout the year. Don’t leave it until the summer before you take a holiday, take a couple of short breaks in between.

Remember, you are the most valuable asset of your businesses. Look after yourself.

Whatever your goals are for 2019, make sure that you are fully insured with business insurance from Caunce O’Hara.

If you already have cover with us and your business is growing, please make sure you get in touch to update your policy to ensure your insurance policy covers your requirements.

Call our award-winning and friendly Schemes team on 0333 321 1403

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Author Phil Ainley, Marketing Manager