Year-end lull time for organizing | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Year-end lull time for organizing | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper

Posted on: Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Year-end lull time for organizing

By Rhonda Abrams

For nonretail businesses, the last two weeks of December can be deadly quiet at the office. Clients are away, and phones don't ring. Meanwhile, back at home, life can be painfully noisy; just how long are your in-laws staying?

That makes this the perfect time to get ready for the new year. Send the relatives to the mall; I have good reasons for you to sneak away to the office:

Create a contact database. One of Rhonda's Rules is "the best source of a future customer is a past customer." Yet small businesses typically lack an easy way to stay in touch with past customers. Many companies resort to keeping their client list or referral sources in a word processing document or in a pile of business cards on their desk.

Instead, get software to organize all your contacts. In tech circles, this software is called "CRM" or "Customer Relationship Management." But don't be intimidated: Even simple address book software is better than nothing.

In our office, we use QuickBooks Customer Manager ($79). It's powerful and easy, especially if you use QuickBooks. You can set it up and master it in the time between Christmas and New Year's.

Other popular programs include ACT by Sage ($229) and Goldmine ($179), two companies that specialized in contact management for years. Midsize companies might check out an online contact management program such as Salesforce.com, which charges on a per-user basis but manages the technology for you.

Go shopping. I love the after-Christmas sales at office supply stores. Remember, business expenses in December are deductible on this year's taxes. It's a great time to update your office equipment — change to a flat panel monitor, get a color laser printer, finally spring for a new computer.

Clean out your office. Look around. Do you still need the stack of industry magazines you're going to read some day? Isn't it time to file that pile of papers?

Now's a great time to clean off your desk and clean out your desk. Remove files you won't need in the coming year and archive them. Be careful to keep files you'll need for tax purposes, but they can be stored somewhere other than your desk drawers.

While you're cleaning, how about making more room on your computer? Delete those stupid jokes and memory-hogging photos your brother-in-law sends you. Your computer will run faster if you've got less junk on it.

Believe me, having a clean office and new files will make you more eager to get going in January.

Prepare to start marketing. Make a list of people you want to contact early in the new year. Include key referral sources and important customers. Compose e-mails now to send the first week in January. Or, contact people who might be around now to set up lunch or meetings in January.

While you have time, look for new networking opportunities. Check your local newspaper for business and community organizations and events. Make reservations to attend in January, so you'll have a calendar full of potential business-building activities.

Redecorate — or decorate — your office. I've got a confession. We've been in our "new" offices for two years, and we still haven't decorated. It's definitely time for some new furniture and some nice pictures on the walls. Working in a pleasant, inviting environment helps keep you motivated.

Rhonda Abrams is the author of "Six-Week Start-Up" and "What Business Should I Start?" You can register for her free newsletter at www.PlanningShop.com.

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