There are a number of ways you may find yourself with a chunk of extra change this holiday season. Sometimes when a business is struggling it is given an infusion of new funds from a business benefactor. Or, there are other ways — like increased sales — that businesses come into a little extra money, especially around the holidays.
What should you do with this kind of money, and how do you determine the best way to use those funds? Here’s a look at three ways you can utilize this capital to get your small business on the up and up in 2018.
Double down on what worked best last year
If you haven’t conducted a year-in-review for 2017 yet, it’s time to start getting into gear. Use the review to get a better sense of what yourself and your employees have been up to, determine what products or offerings sold (or didn’t) and which marketing initiatives soared (as well as those that flopped). Once you know what is and isn’t working, you can put the cash infusion dollars towards those areas that help grow your business and deliver a return on investment.
Build a better marketing flow
Now is the perftect time to assess your marketing angle for the new year. Take a moment to revisit your existing plan and figure out if you need to refresh any of the details. Who are your target customers? How about your competitors? If you have found out new characteristics about either that have been discovered through social media or email marketing initiatives, make note to make sure you’re as in-depth with your plan as possible. Once you get an idea of what these characteristics are, you can start diverting some cash towards these new strategies now, to give you a leg up on 2018.
Pay ahead on expenses for the upcoming year
Small business owners likely already know about some of the upcoming expenses that await them in the new year, including making estimated tax payments and meeting sales tax deadlines in January. For all those expenses you know you have coming up, use your cash infusion to begin paying ahead of schedule. Track your expenses (if you don’t already!) so you will also have a better understanding of where the money is going and to put your business on the right track for sticking to a budget in 2018.