With December somehow upon us already, this year is rushing to a close. 2017 will be here before we know it so don’t wait to prepare your plan to tackle the new year head on. A new year is a fresh start where you can look back at how well (or not) your business has performed and put new plans into place to make it better.

So here are a few ideas you can use to revamp your business for the new year:

Go on a course and learn a new skill

You could find a local night class but nowadays, with the internet at our fingertips, it’s a lot easier to take courses online. You can find courses in just about anything. Maybe you’ve been wanting to learn a bit about web design or bookkeeping.

A new skill could help you run your business better or even allow you to offer additional services than you usually do, increasing your rate.

There will be tons of tutorials and courses you can take. For example, more people have been using Lynda.com which has plenty to choose from. You can also link your LinkedIn account which will allow Lynda.com to publish a certificate on your profile when you finish a course should you wish to.

Redesign your website

Get an early spring clean on the go. Try to evaluate how effective your website is. What’s the navigation, SEO, colour scheme and content like? Make sure everything has a purpose and that the experience is as clear and easy to navigate as possible. Any little hiccups here and there will not inspire confidence in you and will make a potential client move onto the next freelancer. Get some free SEO advice to help guide you.

Up your marketing game

If you’re not already, take a look at analytics for your social media channels. See how well they’re doing and look for areas of improvement. Set yourself targets for each month, quarter and the end of the year. Have a plan in place and try to automate as much as you can. Marketing is important but efficient marketing is better.

Explore a different niche

Finding your niche is an important part of offering a service. It makes you stand out and you can usually end up charging more than someone who does a bit of everything because you’re a specialist.

However, if you’re finding work in your particular niche has become a bit dry, have a think about exploring a new one. If you do this, it’s probably best to keep the work in your old niche going alongside so you don’t lose income as a beginner. You might find you already know a lot and have the skills for that particular niche so it’s something worth considering.

How are you preparing for the new year? Do you have plans to expand your business? Let us know what you think in the comments.