The kids are back in school and Halloween is fast approaching.  People it is time to start planning your budget and marketing plan for the coming year.  2012 will be here before you know it and you do not want it to sneak up on you. Just like many of your clients are reaching out to you for budget information for 2012, you must be thinking now how you will take your business to higher heights next year.  Here are 4 things you must do to plan for 2012.

1. Meet with your Accountant and/or Tax Preparer. You’ll want to know if there’s anything that needs to be done that could reduce your tax burden before the end of the year.  For example: Do you need to purchase any equipment and lease a new delivery van to get it on the book this year. Do you need to delay a payment from a client?  You also should review you projected 2011 budget vs. actual budget 2011 for your business, so that you can make sure that you are keeping track of all your costs and adjusting your pricing accordingly.
2. Create 2012 Budget and Sales Projections. Once you have your meeting with your tax preparer, it’s time to develop your annual budget. At the same time, you should update your sales projections for 2012.  The most important thing is to understand how much money you need to make every 30 days to cover your expenses and earn a profit.
3. Create a New Marketing Plan. Once armed with your sales projections you should use that information to develop your marketing.  Now I have written many times on this blog about how to write a marketing plan and business plan, but here is a quick refresher course.  You should start with your 30 day sales goal.  Then determine what it takes ie. How many calls, email, blog posts and other lead generation activities it takes to close that number of sales each month.  Never start a marketing activity you can’t afford to maintain for at least 6 months.  Be sure to go back a measure what worked, so that you can eliminate those efforts that didn’t pay off in 2011. (How did that pay-per-click (PPC) ad campaign work for you?
4. Stay Current with Your Clients. Make sure your business is still relevant to niche. Stay up on the industry trends and the needs of your niche target customer.  Sometimes businesses run a course and a competitor or new product comes along and fill the need better than you.  Do an annual check meeting face-to-face to make sure you are still giving them what they need.  If you run a business that is not based on relationship selling, then offer your customers a free gift to take a short survey to give you the feedback you need to keep being their best resource.

Do you have another tip on preparing your small business for 2012?

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure.  As CEO of MFE Consulting LLC, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine recently named her the #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com  Melinda is also the author of the national bestseller Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. (Adams Media 2010)