The month of May is Small Business Month, and so all during this month in the Freedom Friday blog and email newsletter I want to answer questions which will help you succeed as a small business owner.  In today's Freedom Friday blog and email newsletter, I want to answer the question, “How Can I Prepare My Small Business for the Future?”  In other words, how can I prepare my small business to be successful in the future?  In today's Freedom Friday blog and email newsletter, I am going to share five success strategies that will prepare your small business to thrive in the future.

1.  Systems

The first success strategy that will prepare your small business to thrive in the future is systems.  This is the time to consider what systems you can put into place in your small business to save time and resources in the future.  Now is a good time to go through all your processes in your small business and look for efficiencies.  If you don't have those processes, now is a good time to outline them, too.  These efficiencies could be in your sales, your marketing, your finances, or any other area.

2.  Policies and Procedures

The second success strategy that will prepare your small business to thrive in the future is your policies and procedures.  If you do not have a policies and procedures manual for your small business, or an employee handbook (if you have employees), this is the time to create one, or have one created by an attorney.  Even if you do have a policies and procedures manual, or an employee handbook, you should review it to see if there are any changes which need to be made.  It might even be worth your time to consult an attorney to either create or update your policies and procedures manual.

3.  Update Financial Planning

The third success strategy that will prepare your small business to thrive in the future is to update financial planning.  Hopefully at the beginning of the year you set out financial goals for your small business, such as revenue goals, number of conversions, etc.  June is right around the corner, which is halfway through the year.  Now is the time to look at all your financials and key performance indicators (KPIs), see what progress has been made, and make adjustments in your financial planning for the next six (6) months and the rest of the year.

4.  Manage Your Small Business's Debt

The fourth success strategy that will prepare your small business to thrive in the future is to manage your small business's debt.  If you have taken out a loan to help pay for expenses in your small business, you need to manage that debt.  If your small business has other loans or credit cards, these also need to be managed by you as the small business owner.  Now is the time to identify all your business debts which are owed by your small business and make it a priority to pay these debts and avoid collection activity or litigation against your small business.  If you're having any trouble paying your small business's debts or obligations, then you should consider hiring an attorney who can help you establish a repayment plan with your creditors.

5.  Pay Attention to Your Small Business's Receivables

Lastly, the fifth success strategy that will prepare your small business to thrive in the future is to pay attention to your small business's receivables.  Receivables are monies owed to your small business by either your customers or other third parties.  This is the time to make sure your clients or other third parties are current on making their payments, and to make sure that receivables on open accounts are not turning into collection issues.  If you do have issues with receivables, or other collection issues, you should consider hiring an attorney who can discuss with you what solutions might be available to resolve those issues and make sure your small business is getting paid in a timely manner.

If you are interested in starting a small business anywhere in Oklahoma, or you are interested in taking your small business to the next level, please contact me at [email protected] to schedule a FREE strategy session.

For more information about Liberty Legal Solutions, LLC, please visit our website at http://www.libertylegalok.com/