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New Year’s Planning for Business Owners

Make a resolution to review these six areas of your operation

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At the beginning of every new year, it’s a good idea for business owners to take time to sit down and do a little planning, to make sure they can keep their company afloat and on the right course going forward.

Doing so can help ensure that your business has the necessary tools to meet its financial and operational goals and that your valued employees will be content with their working environment and unlikely to jump ship.

Read on for some tips on a smooth planning process for your digital presence, vendors, equipment, employees, insurance, and retirement plans.

Key Takeaways

• If you own a business, do some financial housekeeping at the beginning of each year to prevent unexpected money needs where possible.
• To avoid unpleasant surprises, make sure that your insurance policies and employee benefits program are on track and not set to lapse.
• Evaluate your staffing, vendor, and marketing efforts to keep up with your competitors.
• Consider the broader economy and determine whether factors such as labor market conditions or the pace of inflation require any changes on your part.

1. Consider Your Digital Footprint

Set up a business website.

If you want to compete, especially with the big names, you need a presence online and in social media . Begin by planning a website for your business, if you don’t already have one. How complex it has to be and how much traffic you need to generate will determine whether you can set it up yourself or should hire a professional to do it for you.

Here’s a basic checklist for this task:

• Select and purchase a recognizable domain name that customers can connect easily with your business.
• Determine whether you should share a host with other small websites, employ a managed hosting service for larger businesses, or set up your own dedicated server.
• For your budget , remember to build in costs for website maintenance and marketing.
• Develop a marketing plan to ensure that once you have your website up and running, it will draw visitors.

Develop a Social Media Presence

A social media presence for your business is essential these days. If you aren’t already, become familiar with platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), Snapchat, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, and TikTok.

Try to define the audiences who they serve and select those that match your customer profile. For example, certain age groups may focus on Facebook, while others may prefer TikTok. Most platforms will offer advertising kits, demographic data, and more to those interested in using their sites for sales and marketing purposes.

If you’re unsure of how or where to start building your social media presence, there are services that can assist you. You can also hire individuals or firms to help you maintain that presence if that’s not your strong suit or you simply don’t have the time to devote to the effort.

If you decide to be hands-on, create a social media team within your company to plot your online strategy for reaching potential patrons. This team should define your audience, its interests, and how to reach it with existing or newly created content. Blogging, vlogging (video blogging), and podcasts are just some of the ways to market your business and reach prospects and customers.

2. Review Your Vendors and Suppliers

Every business owner should periodically review their vendors and suppliers to make certain that they are receiving the competitive prices and quality service that they need. The beginning of the year may be the best time for such a review.

In many cases, vendors will be working on their own budgets for the year, looking to pin down business, and open to cutting deals to ensure that they achieve their quarterly and annual financial objectives.

With that in mind, business owners should ask themselves the following questions:

• Do current vendors charge reasonable rates?
• Do they provide excellent service and adapt to the changing needs of my business?
• Should I establish relationships with any new vendors or suppliers?
• Does it make sense to try out a new vendor with a small order?
• Would trying out a new vendor provide my business with leverage over an existing vendor?

Business owners with an eye on their bottom line want to know whether they’re getting the best possible products and services at the lowest possible prices. The first few months of the year are an opportune time to take stock of this.

3. Evaluate Your Equipment

Manufacturing companies and many service-related businesses depend on machinery, supplies, and a variety of other equipment to operate. However, many business owners are so focused on day-to-day activities that they forget to make sure they have what they need to operate smoothly and grow their enterprise.

Early in the first quarter is a good time to evaluate equipment needs and to determine whether any new capital investments are in order. This type of planning can ensure that your company is always properly equipped to capitalize on business opportunities. It can also help you allocate needed cash or arrange for borrowing.

Here are some questions to consider for equipment needs:

• Does your business have the equipment necessary to succeed and profit over the long haul?
• If not, can existing equipment last another year, and can your business sustain itself using it?
• What will new equipment cost, and where can you obtain quotes for it?
• Does your company have the cash on hand or the ability to finance such purchases, or will the money need to come from future operational cash flow ?
• Are there any expenses that could be cut to offset and help justify such expenditures?

4. Consider Your Employees

Your planning should also consider your staffing needs. It’s advantageous to uncover any deficiencies early on in the year, so that you can make the appropriate adjustments.

Also, bear in mind that finding, hiring, and training the right person can take a lot of time. So it helps to get started as soon as possible. That can be especially true when a low unemployment rate and hot job market mean that potential employees may receive multiple job offers.

Finally, it’s important to realize that many employees ponder their own futures at the end of the year. They may start thinking about whether they intend to stay with your company or move on. If they choose the latter, you’ll want to be ready to deal with the consequences.

5. Check Your Insurance Coverage

Though the old adage says that the best defense is a good offense, sometimes the best offense is a good defense. Simply put,  insurance coverage is a business necessity.

At the beginning of the year, new rates for health insurance , business liability insurance , automobile insurance , umbrella policies , and other types of insurance tend to go into effect, so it’s an opportune time to go quote shopping.

Be sure to consider the following questions about your insurance:

• Is your company adequately covered by liability insurance, and does it have adequate fire and health insurance?
• Are insurance companies running multiple policy bundling deals at the beginning of the year to win your business?
• Are there any new insurance carriers that might be able to provide competitive quotes?
• Has your company taken on any new assets or business interests that haven’t been accounted for and protected by existing policies?

6. Review Your Retirement Plans

Businesses that want to set up a 401(k) , simplified employee pension (SEP) , or other retirement plan should do so as early as possible during the year. Setting up a plan early can permit employees to take full advantage of their annual allowed pretax contributions and the tax advantage offered by qualified retirement plans. The longer their money can grow on a tax-deferred basis, the larger the nest egg they can potentially accumulate.

Reviewing the various plans, selecting an investment firm, and actually setting up a plan don’t happen overnight. Getting an early jump on these efforts makes sense.

Here are some questions that can assist your planning:

• What will it cost to administer the plan?
• How many employees might benefit from the plan and want to take advantage of it?
• How much, if anything, will your company need to contribute to the plan?
• Are there any advantages to setting up one type of plan over another based on costs, your company’s size, and your employees’ retirement needs?
• Which type of plan or combination of plans will best meet your own retirement needs?

Why Is Planning at the Start of a New Year a Good Idea?

Fiscal years often begin with the new year, so reevaluating and making any necessary changes at that point gives you the maximum benefit across the next 12 months. It also gives participants in retirement plans the opportunity to maximize their savings.

Which Areas of My Business Should I Look at?

Six important areas to consider are your online and social media presence, vendors, equipment, staffing needs, insurance, and retirement plans.

How Will Rising Inflation Affect My Business Outlook?

No one knows for sure whether inflation will rise or fall. But you’ll want to factor it into your financial planning. Among other things, inflation could affect your borrowing costs, the prices you pay for supplies, and the salary expectations of your employees. You’ll also need to weigh whether to raise your own prices and by how much, as well as the potential impact that might have on the demand for your products or services.

Business owners should continually evaluate their businesses and make adjustments accordingly. However, from a number of angles—such as insurance, retirement plans, staffing, vendors, and equipment needs—the beginning of a new year is a particularly opportune time to examine aspects of your business and plan decisively.

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Planning for the New Year: How to Set and Hit Your Goals

December 07, 2023

The end of the year is fast approaching, and it’s an excellent time to reflect on how far you’ve come, fine-tune your goals, and start planning for the new year. Take the opportunity to reflect on what you’ve learned — from your successes to things that didn’t quite work out as planned — and apply these newfound learnings to your business. Key takeaways from the past year will provide you with direction for new goal setting and implementation.

Planning for the new year will give you a renewed sense of purpose in your business. It will serve as a reminder of why you started your business and give you the motivation to hit the ground running in the new year.

To get started with planning your goals for the upcoming year, it’s important to first reflect on the past 12 months. Start by reviewing your business plan for the year and consider what worked for you and what didn’t. Ask yourself why you were able to reach some of your goals and not others. You can gain clarity by asking yourself questions such as:

• Where did I see success?
• What didn’t go to plan?
• Did I achieve the goals I set for your business last year? Why or why not?

Take note of what information you can gather from different tools that can also assist in your review:

• Website analytics
• Social media insights
• Practice Better Reports & Analytics
• Client feedback

Determine Your New Goals & Objectives

Once you’ve reviewed the past year, you’ll be ready to determine what you’d like to focus on achieving in the upcoming year.

Take note of both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of your business when considering your goals. Use your dreams as inspiration, but ensure the goals you set for yourself are attainable and actionable.

1. Quantitative Outcomes

Quantitative outcomes are objective, measurable, and numerical in nature. They aren’t influenced by your personal feelings or opinions. Consider reviewing the following quantitative information when planning for the new year:

• Your income (monthly, quarterly, and annually)
• Month-over-month growth
• The number of services, packages, and programs booked and purchased
• The performance of new services and programs launched
• The number of cancellations or no-shows
• Growth on your social media platforms
• Conversion ratios of prospective clients
• Repeat business and referrals

2. Qualitative Outcomes

Qualitative outcomes are more subjective and refer to the quality of something. These aspects of your business can typically be observed but not directly measured. As a business owner, these are important considerations when thinking about the culture of your business and the type of work environment you foster when planning for the new year:

• Did your schedule feel manageable?
• How were your stress levels throughout the year?
• Did you feel in flow and aligned?
• Did your business feel authentic to you?

What a successful business looks like will vary depending on the practitioner, so whether you want to focus your goals on the qualitative aspects of your business, the quantitative, or a combination of both, there is no right or wrong focus when it comes to goal planning.

Map Out Your Goals

Implementing a strategic plan can turn your desires and dreams into real goals that are ready to be put into action. Once you’ve determined what you’d like to achieve, it’s important to further break down your goals into smaller action steps.

A strategic approach to consider is the SMART goals for creating well-defined objectives : Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. This is a formula for ensuring your goals are actionable and can be followed through on.

• Specific : Use as much fine detail and precise wording as possible when crafting your goals. Vague goals do not set the stage for easy strategizing and implementation. Specificity will help your goal be more effective.
• Measurable : Adding a quantifying aspect to your goal makes it much easier to track progress and success. To make a goal as impactful as possible, incorporate numbers that can help act as progress benchmarks.
• Attainable : Goals should inspire you and push you out of your comfort zone. While they should challenge you, they should also be realistic and within reach.
• Relevant : This is your opportunity to evaluate whether or not your goal is truly important to you and your business. Ask yourself, if you follow through with your goal, what impact will this have on your business? Is the goal aligned with your overall vision?
• Time-Bound : Objectives tied to a deadline will reduce the opportunity to procrastinate and keep you moving forward in a timely fashion. Time-bound goals should include a plan of when you’d like to have the entire goal accomplished and deadlines for your broken down, smaller tasks. You can consider what can be accomplished weekly, monthly, or quarterly to contribute to your annual goals.

Breaking down your broader goals into smaller actionable tasks will ensure efficiency and accountability and can help you turn your dreams into reality as you start planning for the new year. Consistent small steps add up to big wins! Smaller tasks will also make it easier to roadmap and create a timeline.

Starting with small, easier-to-implement tasks will also provide quick wins that can boost your sense of progress and help build momentum. This momentum will build so you have the confidence and motivation to take on bigger tasks along the way.

Work backward to break down your goals. Start at the end and think of all the steps it will take along the way to get you to your end goal. When working backward to map out your tasks, identify roadblocks you’ve experienced in the past or are anticipating encountering. This will allow you to be proactive in your approach rather than reactive as hurdles and other challenges present themselves along the way.

Create a Follow-Through Plan

Now that you’ve mapped out your goals for the year ahead, it’s important to implement a clear follow-through plan so you can stay on track when planning for the new year. There are many accountability exercises and strategies to consider:

• Understand your why : Why does it matter for you to achieve this particular goal? What will it mean to your business and you personally? Getting clear on the “why” will reinforce your goals and remind you why you started in the first place as the new year’s motivation and buzz wears off.
• Use the task feature : Take it further by creating Tasks within Practice Better for the action steps you’ve broken down your bigger goals into. Tasks can be set for yourself as a practitioner, with a due date, and will be on the first page you see when you log into your Practitioner Portal. This will provide a visual reminder to keep your goals top of mind.
• Write down your goals : Find a place to track or write down your goals so you can easily remind yourself of what you are working towards. Keeping them somewhere you will see every day will allow your goals to stay top of mind and keep you apprised of what you need to focus on at all times.
• Schedule your goals: Input target deadlines for your goals into your calendar. These scheduled reminders will keep you on the path you’ve mapped out for yourself and keep you accountable to your deadlines. Consider adding monthly and quarterly reminders in your calendar to regularly review your progress.
• Have an accountability partner : An accountability partner is someone you can check in with and who provides you with support and motivation. Consider asking a colleague or friend and sharing your goals with them, and plan to check in with one another regularly.
• Celebrate along the way : Plan to celebrate small wins along the way to maintain momentum and motivation.

The end of the year is a great opportunity for reflection and strategizing on how to reach new heights in your business. Reviewing your business to date, determining your goals, and mapping out an accountability plan will ensure you are planning for the new year with your best foot forward!

Editor’s note: This post was originally published on November 10, 2020, and has been revamped for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

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10 Best Business New Year’s Resolutions for 2022

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You may not have been able to meet many of the goals you set for your business in 2021, a tumultuous year that brought a lot of the same challenges as 2020. Regardless, there are still ways to get back on track and prepare for a better 2022.

Not sure what resolutions should make their way onto your list? Keep reading for 10 new year's resolutions for business professionals.

Small business new year’s resolutions for 2022

These resolutions should help you brainstorm how you can give your business operations a bit of a refresh this year. Think carefully about what day-to-day and overarching problems you want to solve and how you can create better habits to make them happen. Also, consider what larger projects will make the biggest impact on your business.

1. Create realistic organizational processes

While it may seem like the whole point of setting business resolutions is to be super ambitious, sometimes it can help to take a more realistic approach. While many people like to organize their homes during the new year, you can choose to organize your business. And the key to any good organizational system is to create realistic processes. It’s easy to get swept up in the excitement of a fresh new year and to have your sight set on major changes. But for an organizational system to be sustainable, it needs to be realistic.

Take a good hard look at what did and did not work for you and your staff over the last year. What processes seemed to be more trouble than they were worth? Which did you have to refresh repeatedly because the system was too hard to keep up with? Use your findings to update your processes for 2022.

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Once we uncover your personalized matches, our team will consult you on the process moving forward.

2. Learn to be okay with outsourcing

This resolution can sting a bit for anyone who is used to being the only one in charge of their small business. Many entrepreneurs are responsible for every role in their business when things are just getting off the ground, and this can make it challenging to step away from what you’ve built and let someone else take the reins.

When it comes time to outsource, consider what tasks you struggle with the most. Do creative assignments like marketing campaigns keep you up at night? Are you uncertain if you’re managing your financial accounts correctly? Do you spend way too much time on small administrative tasks that an assistant or software could handle? Your time as a business owner is valuable, so consider hiring some extra help or investing in digital tools to free up your schedule.

3. Update your business plan

Hopefully, you wrote your business plan as one of the first steps of starting your business. A good business plan can serve as a roadmap to success when you need guidance. It can help keep you organized and on track. If you decide you want to pursue an investor, seek a business loan , or take on a new partner, a business plan can also act as a tool to illustrate your business’s worth to outside parties.

In other words, a business plan is crucial to your success. But it isn’t meant to be a one-and-done document. We’re willing to bet your business has changed since you first wrote your business plan. Now is a great time to revisit it and update your plan with the latest financials, goals, competitor research, marketing ideas, and more so your business will continue to grow in 2022.

4. Refresh your marketing plan

Just like with your business plan, you’ll want to take a closer look at your marketing plan. What worked well for your business last year? What didn't? Where did your marketing budget stretch the furthest? What channels worked best for you?

Now that you’ve identified what marketing efforts helped your business the most last year, and which didn’t make as much of an impact, you can update your marketing plan with your insight and knowledge. Your new plan should cut out anything that didn’t work and prioritize what is working best for your business. Feel free to add in new strategies as well. This will help dictate where your marketing budget should go in 2022 so you get the biggest return on your investment.

5. Expand your network

When you’re swamped with work and trying to check off your must-do list, it can be difficult to visualize adding anything that won’t have an immediate impact on your business to your already overpacked schedule. This is why a good resolution for 2022 is to continue expanding your network.

If you make an effort to make a new connection once a week or monthly, you improve the odds of finding a new business lead, learning some valuable trade intel, or creating a strong professional relationship. The more you network, the more results you’ll see. Schedule networking on your calendar like any other to-do to ensure it becomes a priority and not an afterthought.

6. Identify customer service missteps

Customer service matters. In fact, 93% of customers reported they are more likely to become repeat customers at companies that offer excellent customer service.

When it comes to customer service, people remember the really bad experiences as often as the really good ones. Identify what your biggest missteps were in 2021 and outline how you and your employees can avoid them in the future. At the same time, highlight what went well and how you can build on those experiences in 2022.

7. Look for automation opportunities

Technology makes our lives easier every day, but are you using it to its full potential for your business? Look for areas of your business that you can automate. There is software that can make processes such as invoicing, managing inventory, customer service, bookkeeping, sales, and more an automatic occurrence you no longer need to worry about. Not only does this cut down on the chance of manual errors, but it also frees up time in you and your staff’s schedules to tackle other important tasks.

8. Prioritize company culture

If your small business relies on the work of your employees, then focusing on building a good company culture is a fantastic resolution for 2022. Employees that feel engaged and inspired at work are 125% more productive than simply “satisfied” employees. Having a strong company culture that makes employees feel appreciated, respected, and as if their career development matters is a great way to boost employee engagement and loyalty.

Consider surveying your staff on what changes they would like to see culture-wise. Then work toward developing a company culture that reflects your business’s values and prioritizes the needs of your staff. Happy employees are good for business, after all.

9. Build a website

If your business doesn't already have a website, now is the time to invest in building one. A good business website can do wonders for sales, audience growth, brand recognition, and customer service.

An e-commerce website builder can help you create an easy-to-use online store. And in general, a good business website can at the very least allow new customers or clients to find you via search engines, share examples of your work, and provide contact information to anyone who may want to work with you.

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10. Beat burnout

It can be rather exciting to return from a leisurely holiday break with the energy to hit the ground running in January. It’s great to capitalize on the energy that comes after taking time to rest and spend time with loved ones, but before you dive headfirst into work in 2022, consider creating a plan for beating burnout this year.

It’s no secret that many small business owners work themselves to the bone. Burnout is not good for you, your business, or your personal life. Setting clear boundaries, knowing when to take a break, and learning when to ask for help are all great ways to beat burnout. We all have different thresholds for how much we can work and varying ways of coping with stress, just make sure you’re running your business in a way that is good for you.

This article originally appeared on JustBusiness, a subsidiary of NerdWallet.

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Strategic Planning

10 Strategies for Business New Year Planning

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If you want to make the next 12 months more successful, more profitable, and more productive than the last 12 months, these 10 strategies are for you.

By the way, this list isn’t just for a new calendar year – you can revisit this list at any time and create a real turning point in your business if you’re willing to reboot, reinvigorate, and reimagine your business success. Here are strategies for business New Year planning.

1. List the 3 most important objectives for your business over the next year. These should be critical “big picture” accomplishments that will lead to profits and future achievement.

2. For each objective listed above , identify your responsibility in achieving the objective. WHAT will you do? HOW will you do it? WHEN will you do it?

3. Be crystal clear in separating strategies (how and why items) from tactics (what and when items) and use “Verb-noun-date” format to create specific action steps and put them on your calendar.

4. Don’t think of the year as a whole . Break it down to monthly metrics and put quarterly goal-planning reviews on your calendar so you can adjust the dials on your plan, measure results, and take a strategic look at your marketing, sales, and business development activities every 90 days while keeping a close eye on results (profits, clients, projects, revenue) every 30 days.

5. Don’t go it alone . Remember, lone wolves starve to death. Think of partners, advocates, allies, referral sources, and joint venture partners who can help you leapfrog over obstacles and who are a great supplement and complement to your own products and services. Contact them and build (or grow) your relationship with them so you can collaborate more closely – starting right now.

6. Write down a list of professional development goals for the next 12 months. What do you want to learn, do, or become as a business owner? Go to conferences? Gain additional certifications or professional designations? Speak more? Get more articles published? Be specific and put these activities on your calendar so you make sure they happen.

7. Write down a list of personal goals for the next 12 months. What do you want to accomplish for yourself and how would you like to grow personally? Spend more time with your partner? Stay connected with your kids as they grow up and/or pursue their college or post-college adventures? Dig deeper into a special hobby or sport? Drop 10 pounds? Run a 5K? More golf? More vacation time? Where? When? With whom? Map it out to make it happen!

8. Don’t get distracted . Shiny object syndrome has a powerful pull on most entrepreneurs and business owners. Stay focused on the big picture goals you set in Step 1 above – and then relentlessly ask yourself for every new idea, initiative or project, “Does this support one of my three goals? If so, how?” And don’t let yourself off the hook as easily as you might have done in the past. If it’s a no, it’s a no. Metaphorically speaking, stop opening up hot dog stands in the parking lot and redouble your efforts to make your gourmet restaurant thrive!

9. Live out of your calendar, not your inbox . Plan your day – what MUST get done and WHEN? Chunk your day down into blocks and assign specific tasks to those blocks – Phone calls, emails, client tasks, whatever it is YOU want to do that will move you closer to your GOALS. Keep that calendar under your nose. All day. Make it your default screen. Hide, minimize or (gasp) close your email until “check email” pops up on your calendar.

10. Breathe. Relax. You got this . Any time you’re creating an inflection point in your business, it can be scary. You’re letting go of the old – letting go of what no longer works or what no longer serves you well. And you’re embracing the new – the untried, the uncomfortable, perhaps even what seems risky. But the biggest risks of all are stagnation, arrogance, or complacency. Remember – a bend in the road is never fatal… unless you fail to turn.

Category : Strategic Planning

David Newman

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New Year Business Planning Guide

The beginning of the year is a great time to evaluate your business strategy and plan for what you want to get accomplished in the upcoming 12 months. We’ve compiled a New Year Business Planning Guide to help you start your new year with a bang.

Table of Contents

Whether it’s in business strategy or operational protocol, we have articles to help you grow in your personal and business development. So relax, grab a coffee or tea, and read through our collection of articles to inspire and empower you for the new year.

New Year Business Trends

• What Your Competition Might Learn About You This Year
• Magnificent Marketing – New Trends You Need to Capitalize On
• The FUD Factor – Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt – How to Sell Like a Winner
• Today’s Business: Is “Going Green” an Advantage?

Work/Life Balance

• 7 Success Habits to Jumpstart Your Day
• Lifestyle/Balance: Separate Your Home Office from Family
• Motivational Tactics
• Balancing Your Business for Ultimate Success

New Year’s Checklist

• Setting Strategic Goals for the New Year
• Making the New Year Budget
• 4 Ways to Raise Funds for New Projects
• Hot Ways to Start the New Year
• “Create Your Marketing Plan in 5 Easy Steps”
• “I Don’t Need a Business Plan”

Staying Organized for the New Year

• De-cluttering Your Office
• 7 Tips to Keep Your Business Organized
• 6 Steps to an Organized Office
• Converting or Remodeling for a Home Office

To find other business-related tools, articles and resources, use our menu bar above or type in your search term on our search bar found at the top of the page to find what you are looking for. We have thousands of resources to help you with your New Year Business Plan.

Look up business plans , marketing plans , and more!

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7 Tips to prepare your business for the new year

As the year draws to a close, there are several ways to make sure that your business starts the new year off strong. Here, we share some tips on how you can prepare your business for a strong 2022 by setting yourself up for success and positioning yourself and your team to hit the ground running come January.

Plan out the next 12 months.

It’s hard to achieve success without having a clear idea of where you want to go. One of the most essential tasks to tackle ahead of the new year to set yourself up for success is to determine your goals. Start by evaluating where your business is right now and use that insight to set a broad, overarching goal for next year. This goal—your North Star metric—could be related to one of several categories, including revenue (e.g., monthly recurring revenue), engagement (e.g., DAU), growth efficiency (e.g., customer LTV), or user experience (NPS). 

While focusing on a single goal might feel limiting, the reality is that it can help you and your team stay on track and be more strategic and cohesive in your planning and decision-making. Generally speaking, focusing on the right North Star goal will also have positive ripple effects on other areas of your business, and will thus contribute to success across categories. For example, increasing customer LTV by focusing on retention can boost revenue and increase profits by as much as 95% .

Once you’ve landed on your main goal for the year, start defining smaller goals that you can achieve over the next 12 months in order to reach your North Star goal by next December. This helps you establish a plan consisting of smaller, feasible action items that will contribute to your larger goal. 

Focus on financial reporting and planning.

To properly set your budget, set revenue goals, and determine where your business plans to invest money next year, you have to first take a step back and examine performance over the last 12 months. Whether you’re working with an accountant to conduct end-of-year reporting or crunching the numbers in-house, there are three key components that you should focus on: P&L statement, cash flow statement, and balance sheet. 

Together, these financial statements will tell a comprehensive story about your business finances overall, taking into account revenue, costs, expenses, cash inflows, assets, liabilities, and shareholder equity. From there, you can reflect on which decisions positively or negatively impacted revenue over the past year, as well as more granular questions, such as which marketing avenues demonstrated the highest potential ROI. 

This retrospective assessment will help drive confident budgeting decisions and inform your roadmap for the coming year, such as by offering a sense of how much money you can put towards new initiatives and tests aimed at driving growth.

As you focus on financial planning for the new year, it’s also a good idea to think about having a reserve of cash or line of credit in place to lean on when needed throughout the year. This can support the business if and when cash flow slows down or can empower you to strategically finance business growth and opportunities to scale. 

With lines up to $250,000 and rates as low as 4.8%,  Bluevine’s Business Line of Credit  gives your business the flexibility of revolving credit and allows you to draw only what you need when you need it. Discover financing that grows with your business and  helps your business grow .

Settle all of your accounts.

Another financial action item to check off your pre-January to-do list is reconciling all of your accounts receivable and payable. This might mean making sure that all your vendor payments have been submitted or ensuring that you’ve gotten paid for all work completed on your end. Follow up on late invoices as needed to secure payment before the last of the month. Tying up all these accounting loose ends ensures that no straggling payments carry over from one fiscal year to the next. 

A good rule of thumb with end-of-year accounting is also to do a quick assessment of your average collection period. By calculating the average number of days it takes your business to convert accounts receivable into cash, you can determine if there’s room for improvement when it comes to how quickly you get paid and how much time is spent tracking down overdue invoices . 

Keep in mind, this action item is contingent on your business cycle and whether it aligns with the calendar year. Settling your accounts by December 31st is only necessary if the end of the calendar year coincides with your fiscal year-end. However, operating according to a unique fiscal year may impact your tax deadlines , in which case, you’ll want to adjust your timeline for settling accounts accordingly.

Tackle housekeeping tasks at the bottom of your to-do list.

When you’re in the daily throes of running a business, it’s easy for smaller tasks to take a backseat so you can prioritize action items that will move the needle. Unfortunately, it’s easy for these low-priority action items to pile up, which not only becomes a source of constant stress but could contribute to slower overall processes or lack of productivity. 

To counteract the issue, consider dedicating your slower days at the end of the year to tie up loose ends and tackle housekeeping tasks that have been falling to the bottom of your to-do list. Organize your files, clean up your desktop, reply to unanswered emails, get paperwork and documents in order—all of these small administrative tasks may not feel like a huge priority on a regular basis, but getting them out of the way before things pick up in January will help you enter the new year with a clear mind and fresh slate. 

Map out your content calendar.

High-quality content takes time to produce, but getting ahead of your strategy and planning can significantly streamline things ahead of the new year.

Generally speaking, it helps to plan content out on a quarterly basis. This allows you to ensure that you’re carving out time every three months to think strategically about upcoming content and how it aligns with your business goals, industry trends, keyword planning, cultural moments, and your Go-To-Market (GTM) calendar or product launches. It also helps you balance evergreen content—which can be planned and published anytime—with seasonal or timely content needs that can shift or arise closer to the publication date. 

If you’ve finished planning your Q1 content and have some extra time, it’s a good idea to get a headstart on legwork that will support future content planning. This may consist of building a backlog of evergreen ideas to pull from during future content planning sessions, conducting keyword research to determine priority terms to target, or creating a list of holidays and observances to peg content to throughout the year. These elements will give you a strong starting point when it comes time to plan content for Q2 and beyond.

Get into a flexible mindset.

Perhaps equally important to creating a plan for the new year is understanding that things don’t always go according to plan. Having clear business goals and a game plan to achieve them is critical to setting yourself up for success, but so is knowing how to change those plans as needed. That might mean being flexible enough to pivot in the face of unexpected circumstances, but it can also mean proactively re-examining your performance against your goals and adjusting your plan—or in some cases, your goals—as needed.

Reflect and reset.

While most tips on setting your business up for success in the new year are about things you can or should do, another useful tip is to actually refrain from doing much at all. Taking time to unplug, relax, and rest at the end of the year ensures that you head into January feeling refreshed and energized. You may spend some time reflecting on the past year, including celebrating your business’s wins and lessons learned over the past 12 months, but the main idea is to take a step back and spend some time unwinding and recharging before things pick back up in the new year.

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This content is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice of any type, such as financial, legal, tax, or accounting advice. This content does not necessarily state or reflect the views of Bluevine or its partners. Please consult with an expert if you need specific advice for your business. For information about Bluevine products and services, please visit the Bluevine FAQ page.

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New Year business planning

Table of Contents

Set goals for the year

Measure your success so far, pick your priorities, consider changes in the market, using countingup in the new year.

If you want to improve on the way your company performed this year, or you have new ideas on business management that you’ve been waiting to implement, you might want to use the new year as your signal to change things. The new year is a great time to refocus your business, but you have to be sure you’re doing things correctly so you can start next year strong.

This article will help you with your new year business planning and provide a few things you should consider when writing your plans and strategies. We’ll cover a variety of topics, including:

A vital feature of your business plan for the new year should be setting a few goals. Ask yourself what you would like to achieve for the year, but make sure your answers are specific. This means avoiding goals like ‘grow the business’ or ‘make more money’. Instead, it’s better if your goals relate to a particular department or area of your business. 

For instance, if you want to increase your company’s income, consider setting some sales goals . Look into ways you can increase sales of a particular product or service, or check if you need to invest more into marketing to convince more customers to buy your goods.

An important thing to remember is the difference between goals and objectives . A goal is a long-term target: it should help point your business activities in the right direction, but they usually don’t go into details about the methods involved. Expanding your network is a good goal, but consider how you’d actually expand your network. This is where objectives come in.

An objective is more specific, measurable and has some sort of deadline. To achieve your overall goal, it’s smart to break it down into smaller objectives. For example: as part of your goal of expanding your network, you might set yourself the objective of attending two networking events in the new year so you can meet more contacts.

If you want to succeed in the new year, you’ll need to define what success means to you and your company. A big part of working out this definition is to assess your progress so far, which means measuring the success of your business .

There are many different methods you can use to measure your success, but the simplest are the ones that involve calculating your income and comparing it to the income of previous years or months. 

For instance, to measure the success you had last year, you could compare your total income for each month and work out the percentage increase or decrease from month to month. This will help you set goals for the new year, as you could aim to maintain that same percentage or increase it.

If your main aim isn’t income-based, you might want to measure the success of a project you completed in 2021 instead. This can be a little harder than measuring the success of your business overall, especially if you don’t want to focus on income, profits, or similar statistics. It’s still possible, though: look at things like client feedback to measure the success of your project. This helps you determine what you did wrong and what to continue doing in the new year.

When you’re putting together a high-quality business plan for the new year, a small but essential detail to add is where you’re going to start. A list of tasks, goals, and targets is useless if you don’t know what you will tackle first.

To decide the order in which you’ll work through your business plan, you need to work out a method for prioritisation. Different things are important to different businesses, and you’ll want to figure out what’s especially important to your business. 

The best way to do this is to look at your achievements in 2021: determine what went right and what went wrong. If your marketing was phenomenal, but your production was slow and inefficient, you should prioritise the parts of your plan that will improve how you produce goods.

Prioritising tasks is the key to improving your time management . Time management is all about spending your time wisely, so it’s better to do important tasks before nonessential ones. 

The only thing you can ever guarantee about a new year is that it’ll be different from the last one. One of the big differences that a business may want to investigate is the changes within the market they sell their products to

Changes in the market are important because of how customers influence a business . If your target market seems to be changing the way they shop, or wants different things from the products they buy, you’ll need to be able to adapt to these changes. If you think your consumers are likely to change their behaviour in the new year, put measures in place to make the most of these changes. 

Another part of your market is your competitors. A big part of your business plan in the new year might be adjusting your marketing or sales strategy to account for a greater number of competitors. 

Whatever next year might hold for your company, it’s a good idea to move forward with a clear understanding of your finances. One of the easiest ways to achieve this is to use the Countingup app. 

Countingup is the business current account with built-in accounting software that allows you to manage all your financial data in one place. With features like automatic expense categorisation, invoicing on the go, receipt capture tools, tax estimates, and cash flow insights, you can confidently keep on top of your business finances wherever you are. 

You can also share your bookkeeping with your accountant instantly without worrying about duplication errors, data lags or inaccuracies. Seamless, simple, and straightforward! 

Find out more here .

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5 Steps to Make a Business Plan for the New Year

It’s time to make an action plan for the new year! Can you believe it?! I feel like this year flew by, but then again, I say that every year! My team and I recently sat down to make our business plan for the new year, and it prompted me to pull the curtain back and show you exactly how I plan everything out in my business. This process is the key factor in turning my $100,00 a year business into making over a million dollars each year. So pull out your chart paper, sticky notes, and markers, and let’s get planning!

Step 1: Decide What Your Plan For the New Year MUST Include

The first step in making your business plan for the new year is getting clear on your priorities. If you listen to this podcast episode on planning for the new year, you’ll know that I call this your “Heck Yes” list. Write down the top ten things that you will say “Heck Yes!” to this year.

At the top of my list is babies and family and personal development. Before I even dip my toe into the business, I need to make sure I have dates and times blocked off for family and personal development. So when I’m making a plan for the new year, I know that I will be blocking off six weeks when my baby is due and any other important family events I want to prioritize.

If you’re having trouble deciding what is on your “Heck Yes” list, here are a few more that are on my plan for the new year. I base everything else I do in my business around my program launches, so that’s next on my list. Then, I prioritize email marketing, blogging, The CEO Teacher Podcast, and social media. I’m also taking this year to focus on affiliate marketing, which goes on the list too!

Step 2: Put Your “Heck Yeses” on Your Plan for the New Year First

Now that you have your “Heck Yes” list, it’s time to sit down and put those items on your plan for the new year. I have four large calendars each year in my business – one for each quarter. You may hear them called Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4. These quarterly calendars each include three months of the year. So, when you’re planning out your Q1 (Quarter 1) calendar, you’ll be adding in all of your priorities in January, February, and March. Seeing the whole quarter at a glance, you can make important decisions and be proactive when creating your business marketing plan for the new year.

I will put what’s most important on my yearly calendar, and then I will focus on the details (social media, emails, blogging, and more) each quarter. This is what works best for my team and me, but you have to decide the best way to plan for the new year for you!

Step 3: The Best Way to Plan is to be as Detailed as Possible

As I mentioned above, I start my business plan for the year with a birds-eye-view to ensure the essential pieces are in place. But then, we get as detailed as possible when my team creates our quarterly calendars. We’ll note when we need to send specific emails , what I’m posting on Instagram, the content of my blog posts. 

When you can get super detailed and plan out every piece of content, every launch, every part of your marketing strategy?! That’s when you’ll win! Once it’s down on paper, we MAKE IT HAPPEN. So, write it down and MAKE IT HAPPEN! It’ll take more time now, but I promise you’ll thank me later!

Step 4: What Every Business Plan for the New Year Should Include

Now that you have your content and priorities in your plan for the new year, it’s time for the SECRET SAUCE. This is the IT factor that will set you apart from everyone else – HYPE. I see it all of the time… a teacher makes a new product line or launches a program that they’re excited about, but they don’t get the sales they’re hoping for. There are many reasons why, but one of the big reasons is they didn’t build enough HYPE.

Can I tell you a secret?! I start building hype for my launches almost TWO MONTHS before I open cart. Yup. It’s not a random thing that I think about three days before I release it. If you want to become an industry leader, you have to start thinking like one. There are tons of hype mechanisms out there, and I encourage you to try several and find what works for you and your audience. 

Hype is what your plan for the new year is missing, so think about how you could build momentum before you announce your next TPT product line or course launch. What could you do to get your community excited to purchase? Think about Nike, for example. They release a small number of pairs of shoes in a particular style, and the hype is so big that they sell out in SECONDS! Teacher friend, you can make this happen for you too. Think outside the box to make the new year the best one yet!

Step 5: Take Massive Action to See Your Plan Through

Are you ready for a little tough love?! The only thing standing between you and your success in the new year is YOU! It’s time to stop letting limiting beliefs and distractions get in your way. One of my favorite quotes is, “Action brings clarity, and clarity produces results.” Don’t make this beautiful, color-coded business plan for the new year just to let it collect dust by February. Be persistent and do what’s necessary to see your plan through. Stop letting the people you follow on Instagram influence how you run your business . Put your blinders on, keep taking massive action, and do the dang thing! I know you can do it. It may be hard, you may have to make sacrifices, but it will be so worth it in the end!

I believe in you. It’s our year, so let’s make it happen by taking massive action! Are you in?! Let me know by sharing your plan for the year on Instagram and tagging me @kaysemorris ! I can’t wait to see it and cheer you on!

[…] suit with everything else in our businesses. So, what do you need most as a teacher blogger? Consistency. This means that you should be posting regularly. That could be once a month, once every two weeks, […]

[…] 5 Steps to Make a Business Plan for the New Year […]

[…] habits. How are you going to get ready for what’s to come when you have no idea what it might be? Get your plan in place. What are your Heck Yeses, your non-negotiables? Set your goals so together we can take massive […]

[…] Create a business plan that provides potential customers with a snapshot of your tutoring services. Organize your offers with an easy-to-understand method or framework. Create a business hub (or website) to share with your audience. Include links to get on your schedule. We love Calendly as an option. That way you can schedule and receive payments at the same time.  […]

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Strategic Business Planning for the New Year

Take stock of where your business currently stands and plan your business’s future. Here are 6 steps to plan for next year.

The start of a new year is a great time to take stock of where your business currently stands and turn your attention to the future. What are your business goals for the year to come, and what kind of planning do you need to do to get there?

Strategic business planning basically answers three questions:

• How is your business performing?
• What business goals do you want to set for the new year?
• What are the best ways to meet your goals?

Here’s how to plan out the new year for your small business in more detail, by following these six steps.

1. Set Your Business Goals

The first step toward any strategic plan is to determine where you’re headed, so spell out in concrete terms what you’d like to accomplish this year. Be specific. Don’t just say you’d like to increase sales. By how much? In which area? How? The clearer you are, the easier it will be to map out ways to achieve your goals.

There are three areas to consider as you set your business goals:

• YOUR VISION FOR THE BUSINESS: Your vision is what caused you to start the business in the first place. What did you see when you looked to the future? Why did you start this business?
• THE MISSION OF YOUR BUSINESS: Your mission is the specifics of what you’d like to accomplish, whether it’s making the best widget available or serving the most awesome tacos.
• YOUR PERSONAL VALUES: Your values encompass what’s important to you in the way you run your business. What would you like your employees and customers to experience?

Articulating these three things – your vision, mission, and values – will help you put a strategy in place to accomplish them. Your plan will affect everything from the number of employees you hire to the types of goods and services you offer.

2. Do a Reality Check

Now that you’ve analyzed where you’d ideally like to be, figure out where you stand in relation to those goals. Sales figures are one way to measure how you’re doing, but success can mean many things; it all comes down to what success means to YOU.

Money is likely a big factor, but it also helps to think in terms of what your community involvement is like, how green your business is , and what kind of programs you have in place for your employees. Again, measure yourself against your vision, mission and values.

3. Choose Your Focus

Once you know where you are, compared to where you’d like to be, you can start working out how to get there. Most likely, you’ll have more things on your list than you might be able to accomplish at once, so you probably have to narrow it down a little, or at least choose priorities, or an order in which to proceed.

Based on your resources and capabilities, choose a handful of specific targets and start planning. Choosing just a few things to concentrate on will help you achieve your goals in actuality. It may sound simple, but work toward your strengths and away from your weaknesses.

4. Know When to Say No

As you start coming up with ideas, always keep your vision for the company and its purpose in mind. Reject any strategies that don’t fit. You’ll also have to shelve ideas that you don’t have the resources for right now. Those ideas may be wonderful, but you’ll need the right people , facilities, time and money to put your strategies into effect, so don’t plan what you can’t pull off. Understand what you can accomplish and what you can’t.

If you have ambitious plans, don’t be afraid to strategize how to get there down the road. You may not have the resources today, but part of what you’re planning for is to be able to develop in areas that will help you accomplish what you want in the future. Concentrate on longer-term business goals, like how to grow your business, improve the products and services you offer, and improve the way you run your company.

5. Create Your Implementation Strategy

Your strategic plan amounts to nothing more than an intellectual exercise until you start to implement it. Your next challenge will be doing the work to execute your ideas, making changes, and monitoring their effects.

Figure out how and when you will address each element of your plan. For the implementation of your plan to be successful, it’s helpful to assign specific responsibilities, activities, deadlines, and budgets.

6. Evaluate Your Plan’s Performance

Strategic planning isn’t a one-shot deal, but an ongoing process. You will need to evaluate how things are going after you put the plan into effect. As you move forward, don’t be afraid to change course if something isn’t working out the way you thought it would, and don’t be afraid of a little discomfort as you alter the way you’ve been doing things.

Schedule the time to take a look at what’s working and what might need tweaking. Make sure you and your staff are clear about your business goals and what needs to be done. For parts of the plan, you might decide on a daily or weekly check to see how the implementation is going. For other changes, monthly or quarterly reviews will do.

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How to Create a Profitable Annual Business Plan [+Free Template]

Updated: February 09, 2023

Published: October 15, 2015

The beginning of a new quarter is the perfect time to start planning the next year for your business. Start the next year or quarter off on the right foot by creating an annual business plan for your company.

Q4 often brings a flurry of business-related activity. And while all this activity helps fill the pipeline, it can distract you from reflecting on past performance and preparing for the year or quarter ahead.

Fortunately, you can write an annual business plan at any time of the year. Start your plan now to set your team up for success.

What is an annual business plan?

An annual business plan is just that — a plan for you and your employees to help achieve the company’s goals for the year. Think of an annual business plan as the guide to complete all of your company’s overall goals outlined in your initial business plan.

The first business plan you wrote for your business is the blueprint and the annual business plan is the detailed instructions to keep your business running long-term.

Usually, an annual business plan contains a short description of your company, a marketing analysis, and a sales/marketing plan.

Because an annual business plan is for the year, you’ll want to review your business at the end of four consecutive quarters and revise your plan for the next four quarters.

Why is annual business planning important?

Even though the fourth quarter might be a busy time of year, don’t put off creating an annual business plan.

Not only will your annual business plan keep you on track, it will also help you map out a strategy to keep your employees accountable. You can then more easily achieve the overall goals of your business.

Here are some reasons why it’s well worth creating an annual business plan for your company.

You can measure your success.

An annual business plan is the best way to measure your success. And I’m referring to the collective “you” here because it takes the entire company or all of your employees to make new business efforts effective.

An annual plan not only sets expectations for you but also for others within your company who need to contribute to the business’s success.

You can reflect on the past and plan ahead.

Creating an annual business plan allows you to reflect on the past 12 months.

As you reflect on the previous year, you’ll be able to get a good idea of what your business is capable of doing and set accurate, attainable projections based on previous numbers.

You’ll define your business goals.

Your annual business plan will shed some light on what the heck you do at your company. For those who are not routinely involved in new business, it can seem like a black hole of mystery.

Sharing your plan — whether to an executive committee, department heads, or even the entire staff — adds clarity and gives everyone something to aim for.

You can impress your boss.

If you head a department that could benefit from an annual business plan, don’t wait to be asked before you start writing. Get on your CEO’s schedule to review your outline and discuss your intentions for putting this plan together.

Sometimes the hardest part is getting started. You can get the ball rolling with the basic template that follows.

Annual Business Plan Template

Each section of your annual business plan will help tell the story of your company and clearly define your company’s goals for the year.

Let’s take a look at each section of the annual business plan template .

Executive Summary

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End the Year Right: Small Business Planning Tips to Wrap Up 2022

With the fourth quarter well underway, it’s time to really hunker down on business planning to wrap up the year.

No matter how the year went, it’s always a good idea to plan ahead and tie up any loose ends before December 31st. Here is your End-of-Year Playbook to help you get a running start as we head into a New (and hopefully better) Year.

1. Get Caught Up on Your Bookkeeping

You can’t make any sound financial or tax planning for the future if you don’t know where things stand—and that means understanding actually how much you’ve taken in and how much you’ve spent year-to-date.

If you are not working with an accountant, there are plenty of apps to help automate most of the work for you. For example, you can take a look at FreshBooks’ expense tracking . By getting caught up on your revenue and expenses now, you will have an easier time come tax season, and you’re in a better position to make sound financial decisions.

The start of a new year is a natural time to bump up your rates.

2. Revisit Your Pricing

Once you understand your business’ financial picture, it’s time to get honest about how things are going. Is your business model sustainable, or do you feel like you’re working as hard as you can but still treading water?

Many freelancers and small business owners make the mistake of undercharging their clients : Is your pricing adequately compensating you for your time, experience, and costs (which include taxes, retirement plans, health insurance, and more)?

The start of a new year is a natural time to bump up your rates. And if you are billing clients by the hour, we also recommend reading FreshBooks’ eBook “ Determine Your Rate & Earn Your Worth ” to better understand the best way to put a fair price tag on your services. Dreading a tough price conversation with your loyal clients? Here are 4 ways to increase prices without the backlash.

3. Do Some End-of-Year Tax Planning

The majority of people think about taxes just once a year. As a result, they lose the chance to make any meaningful changes to help their tax situation.

This tax year is still going to be strange if you received any government loans or assistance to support your business during the pandemic. It’s smart to set up a call with an accountant before the year comes to a close, so you can follow any additional tax advice while it still matters.

4. Change Your Business Structure

If you have been thinking about “upgrading” your business structure from a sole proprietorship to an LLC or corporation, now is the time. That’s because you can simplify your record-keeping and taxes by starting 2023 as the new structure.

For example, in the U.S., you can even have a document filing company complete the paperwork now and then send it to the state office at the start of 2023. Read “ How to Decide What U.S. Business Structure Is Right for You ” to learn more about the various business structures  and their pros and cons.

5. Update Your Website and Social Media Profiles

Throughout the year, you undoubtedly make time to help your clients prosper, but how much time do you dedicate to growing your own business? Is the content on your website and business social media profiles up to date?

Dedicate one day this month to touching up, revamping, or overhauling your digital presence. If you simply can’t spare a full day from billable work, then spend two hours per week for one month. You can even hire someone if needed… just don’t let your own business languish while you help everyone else move ahead.

Related Articles

6. Close an Inactive Business

Maybe you started a dog-walking business before you got serious about your design work. You haven’t walked a dog in ages, but various government agencies may still think said dog-walking business is active (and they’ll be expecting your tax return, annual fee, etc.).

By the end of the year, you should officially close any inactive business. This is particularly true if you incorporated (formed an LLC), filed for a reseller’s license, or any other kind of permit. The last thing you want is to find out that you owe 3 years’ worth of annual fees for a business you assumed was shuttered a long time ago.

7. Plan Your Holiday Schedule

Your clients will expect you to take time off around the end of the year; more than likely, they’ll be quiet around the holiday season, too. However, you should still give all clients ample notice of your plans and set their expectations for your availability. Planning ahead is the best way to ensure a smooth and stress-free vacation.

The post was updated in December 2022.

Written by Lisa Craymer , Senior Content Marketer, FreshBooks

Posted on December 6, 2022

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6 steps for operations leaders to build a better annual plan

An effective annual plan is critical to keep your teams, departments, and company together, working toward the same goals. 

As an operations leader, you oversee how your organization runs its business. By reviewing how your company performed in the past year, you and your operations teams can identify which strategies worked—and which fell short—to build an effective annual plan designed to maximize the impact of every department.

Here’s what you need to know about building a successful annual plan.

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Annual plans drive clarity and accountability 

With an annual plan, departments can start the year off with a strong understanding of the overall vision and how their work contributes to larger business goals. Without an overarching plan, it can be difficult to understand how a specific project or initiative moves the business forward. 

Clear goals establish benchmarks for project progress

Your annual plan shouldn’t be a set-it-and-forget-it goal. Rather, periodically check project progress against your annual plan so you can see how your operations teams are doing. Doing this throughout the year will not only give you a sense of how your teams are tracking towards their overall goals—it can also help you understand if they’re ahead or behind schedule, and adjust accordingly. 

If you notice that a specific initiative is not on track to meet the strategic goals outlined in your company’s annual plan, you can use this data to pivot and double down on—or divest from—specific initiatives. 

Establish concrete goals for a specific time period

The more specific your goal, the more concrete your action plan. Providing detailed and specific goals gives your employees a clear understanding of what work to prioritize and what deliverables they’re responsible for. 

Make sure your goals are measurable, as well. Clear KPIs and OKRs demonstrate how tangible work connects back to larger business goals. 

6 steps for annual business planning

The annual planning process often takes place near the end of the calendar year or at the end of your company’s fiscal year. As you get closer to annual planning time, consider these six steps of the annual planning process. 

1. Reflect on previous strategies—and develop new ones

Before your business can start planning for next year, ask yourself, your stakeholders, and your operations teams: How did we perform against the strategies laid out in last year’s annual plan?

No matter the answer, use these recent data points to steer your decision-making when building your next annual plan. That could mean doubling down on big programs or initiatives born in the last year—or going a different direction entirely. 

A well-built annual plan factors in reflection on what did and didn’t work—and improves off of it.

2. Transform your business’s greatest needs into goals

After reflecting on last year’s performance, hone in on the most significant growth and improvement opportunities. Use this for guidance as you construct company- and department-wide goals.

It helps to have a consistent framework for goals across the business, to accelerate the goal-setting process and ensure greater understanding of goals within all corners of the organization.

The exact goal framework you use will depend on your company, but a few good ones to consider are: 

The Objectives and Key Results (OKR) method , which helps your business set goals using the framework “I will [objective] as measured by [key result].”

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) , which use leading and lagging indicators to track how you’re performing towards your goals. 

The SMART goals framework , which helps ensure the goals your organization sets are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.

3. Create an action plan to maximize impact

The next step is to create an action plan for your business to achieve the goals outlined in step three. Your action plan should outline the list of steps your teams need to take to accomplish their goals. Think of an action plan like the map you’ll use to arrive at your final destination. 

From there, delegate the work laid out in the action plan to specific teams and departments. Connecting the work that your operations teams complete to larger company goals makes it easier for each team to understand the impact their work has on the business.

4. Ensure the annual plan is everyone’s plan

Not everyone can be involved in building the annual plan for your company—but every team member should feel like their work is seen and accounted for in the plan. 

As the annual plan comes together, meet with leaders and employees across the business to ensure varying perspectives and priorities are factored into the final product. This step is critical for getting buy-in and generating excitement across the business. 

You don’t want to be in a position where you’re just telling everyone what the annual plan is—you want to bring every department along for the journey and get them excited about what they’re working toward in the coming year. Consider conducting a presentation to not only share the company plan and why this plan matters, but also to outline timelines and how departments will use it to achieve the company’s goals. 

5. Execute your strategy, monitor metrics, and adjust as needed

At this point, your organization’s annual plan is completed, but nothing is ever fully set in stone. As the year progresses, make sure you’re continually monitoring success metrics and KPIs. If the results of your strategies are not behaving as you expected them to, it’s important to adjust so your business will still hit the goals outlined in your annual plan. 

6. Repeat again for next year 

At the end of the year, it’s time to start the process over again. Align with your strategic plan, look back at the past year’s results, and create another plan to achieve those business goals. 

What does a good annual plan include?

Effective annual plans should contain components that are essential for completing the work outlined in the plan itself, and context for why this plan will be effective. Here are a few examples of components you would find in an annual plan:

Reports of the previous year’s performance: Your company’s annual plan for the upcoming year should be based on the data from the previous year’s performance. This provides context for your teams as to what they’re capable of doing within one calendar year.

Budget estimates: A common KPI investors track is return on investment (ROI). Knowing how much money different teams are spending makes it easier for your organization to calculate ROI and adjust strategies. Providing budget estimations also gives departments the context they need for the amount of resources they have at their disposal for the year.

Clear and specific goals: Annual plans should use the SMART goal framework so that your company can easily measure progress and report back on it later. 

Important milestones: Your business can accomplish a lot of work within one year—but to do that, each department needs to know how they're doing. Milestones operate like checkpoints, giving teams and departments a sense of direction and an idea of how they're pacing against annual goals.

Project buffers and contingency plans: Unexpected things happen all the time, and it’s better to be prepared than caught off guard. Develop a contingency plan for how your organization will get back on track in the event of an unexpected roadblock. Also set aside some resource buffers, such as a small portion of your company’s budget, to accommodate for unexpected expenses.

Gear up for next year

After a year of hard work, it’s time to reflect back and plan for more great things in the future. While annual planning takes time, collaboration, and thoughtful strategy, the efforts show in the form of your business success. 

Still have questions? We have answers. 

What is annual planning.

Annual planning is the act of developing a strategy for the upcoming year based on the learnings from the current year’s performance. This provides an opportunity for your operations teams to iterate on strategy from the past year and incorporate those learnings into your upcoming plans. 

In essence, your annual plan should contain: 

The goals your business needs to achieve

A strategy for how your organization will hit those goals

Clear tactics for what each department will work on

Any important milestones that benchmark progress

What’s the difference between annual planning and strategic planning? 

Strategic planning and annual planning are both important business planning methods that help set your team's strategy for the future. However, the scale of these planning strategies are different.

Strategic planning is the long-term strategy for your business. This encompasses a basic roadmap of how business should develop within three to five years. You will use your strategic planning process to inform your annual plan. 

Annual planning represents all of the goals and strategies that you want your business to achieve, similar to a strategic goal. The main difference here is that an annual plan only encompasses one calendar year, instead of a few years. If you think of it like a pie, annual planning is just one slice of the larger strategic plan pie.

When should your operations teams start annual planning?

Begin your annual planning process during Q4, so you can begin day one of Q1 with your plan in hand. If that’s not an option, do your annual planning as close to the start of the new year as possible. 

There are two benefits to planning earlier. First off, you’ll beat the end-of-year crunch, and avoid the stress that traditionally comes with the end of the year. Additionally, if you run an efficient annual planning process with your leadership team, your operations teams will still be free to execute on high-impact projects throughout Q4.

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Business | San Jose planning commission recommends…

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Business | San Jose planning commission recommends approval of Westgate West Costco

The wholesale retailer is investing an estimated $60 million to build the project.

The San Jose Planning Commission is recommending the City Council approve Costco’s new location, three years after the big-box store announced its plans to expand.

Costco plans to invest an estimated $60 million in the project, which envisions tearing down three existing buildings at the struggling mall and replacing them with a 40-foot-tall, 165,148-square-foot store with rooftop parking.

Along with adding 250 to 300 jobs at an average hourly rate of $29 per hour, city officials see the project as an economic boon. The Costco store will provide $2 million in annual sales tax revenue on top of utility and property taxes, which will benefit the city of San Jose, Santa Clara County, and Prospect High School.

“The issue is that the city needs to build an economic base to pay for city employees and to provide city services,” Commissioner Pierluigi Oliverio said. “We take actions on this dais in a consistent manner to approve thousands of units of low-income housing that pay zero property tax. Zero. We add residents that demand services, but we have no way to pay for them and the only way to make up for that is when we have a chance where there’s a commercial development that brings revenue to the city.”

If approved, this would make the new location the big-box retailer’s sixth store in San Jose. It currently operates four warehouse stores and one business center throughout the city. Costco expects the project to take 21 months to build, according to documents submitted to the city.

Residents have seen the addition of a Costco at the Westgate West mall, which sits on the border of San Jose and Saratoga, as a hot-button issue for years — evidenced by the 30-plus meetings held about the project — due to its close proximity to schools and neighborhoods and the expected increase in noise and traffic along two major arterials: Lawrence Expressway and Prospect Road.

“You’ve been hearing these reasons from us for three years, getting repeated offers to sit down and discuss possible mitigations,” said resident Marc Pawliger, who noted that nearly 4,700 people signed a petition opposing the project. “We’ve been rebuffed every time. And even after three years of asking for the city to be an advocate and solve these issues, the project is still unsafe and still inappropriate.”

The potential impacts from the project also have prompted Saratoga city officials and school advocates to chime in, asking San Jose to include more mitigation measures .

“The location is inappropriate,” said Julie Reynolds-Grabbe, president of the Prospect High School PTSA. “It’s less than 50 feet from long-established homes close to several parks, across from assisted living centers, a thousand feet from a high school, a thousand feet from an elementary school and it will bring four million extra car trips per year to an area already played by congestion and frequent injury accidents.”

The city’s traffic engineers, however, said that Costco’s changes to its initial plans have adequately addressed impacts and noted that the major thoroughfares could still handle the added workload.

Senior transportation specialist Manjit Banwait said that although the addition of Costco could increase daily trips on local streets by 11,000, Lawrence Expressway could absorb the impact because the street can accommodate 50,000-55,000 daily trips.

Lynette Dias, the president of Urban Planning Partners, said Costco has also committed to limiting traffic moving through residential neighborhoods by closing off some of the driveways on Graves Avenue and preventing delivery trucks from using the street altogether.

Costco has also pledged $1 million in intersection improvements at Lawrence Expressway and Prospect Road.

The only remaining step for Costco is to gain City Council approval next month, where the council must find an overriding public benefit of the project.

While some residents oppose Costco’s proposed building, some local business owners like Michele Vennard, who has operated Bikram Yoga San Jose in the Westgate West mall for the past 22 years, welcomed the change because vacancies have limited growth.

Costco’s proposed location has served as a commercial shopping center for more than 50 years but has recently seen several large tenants like Orchard Supply Hardware, Ethan Allen, Smart & Final, and CVS leave.

“Satisfying these needs is what growth is, and that growth comes with consequences, either traffic on one hand or skyrocketing property values,” said resident Murthy Nemali, who lives next to the proposed Costco and supports the project.

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Annual report 2023 - 2024 and new business plan published

The Adjudicator’s Office are pleased to announce the publication of its 2023 to 2024 annual report and new 3-year business plan for 2024 to 2027.

2023 to 2024 annual report and new business plan published

The Adjudicator’s Office are pleased to announce the publication of its 2023 to 2024 annual report. For the first time this also includes an in-depth report and set of recommendations on a specific theme: Applying Customer Circumstances to Decision Making.

We are also publishing our new three-year business plan and an updated Service Level Agreement ( SLA ) with HMRC and the Valuation Office Agency ( VOA ).

The Adjudicator Mike McMahon said: “I am delighted to be publishing my first annual report as Adjudicator and our new business plan today. Our role is to challenge all of our stakeholders to provide the best outcomes for their customers and the annual report is a key part of this.

“I am pleased that this annual report will see our first published in-depth insight report for HMRC into applying customer circumstances to decision making. I am keen that we become more transparent and publishing more information is part of that.”

The full set of documents that have been published on our site today are:

• 2023 to 2024 annual report : Providing a reflection of our performance during the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024
• Insight report : Applying Customer Circumstances to Decision Making. Our formal report using our insight and expertise to analyse specific themes and make recommendations to HMRC to improve services for customers.
• Business plan : Confirming our objectives over the next three years from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2027
• Updated Service Level Agreement : We have updated our Service Level Agreement ( SLA ) with HMRC and VOA . The new SLA will come into effect from 26 September 2024.
• Quality standards : For the first time we are publishing our quality standards, which underpin our work to make sure we provide our customers and stakeholders a quality service.

In addition, over the coming weeks we will be publishing our Service Standards and our first set of quarterly performance metrics.

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Simple Business Plan Template (2024)

Updated: May 4, 2024, 4:37pm

Table of Contents

Why business plans are vital, get your free simple business plan template, how to write an effective business plan in 6 steps, frequently asked questions.

While taking many forms and serving many purposes, they all have one thing in common: business plans help you establish your goals and define the means for achieving them. Our simple business plan template covers everything you need to consider when launching a side gig, solo operation or small business. By following this step-by-step process, you might even uncover a few alternate routes to success.

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Whether you’re a first-time solopreneur or a seasoned business owner, the planning process challenges you to examine the costs and tasks involved in bringing a product or service to market. The process can also help you spot new income opportunities and hone in on the most profitable business models.

Though vital, business planning doesn’t have to be a chore. Business plans for lean startups and solopreneurs can simply outline the business concept, sales proposition, target customers and sketch out a plan of action to bring the product or service to market. However, if you’re seeking startup funding or partnership opportunities, you’ll need a write a business plan that details market research, operating costs and revenue forecasting. Whichever startup category you fall into, if you’re at square one, our simple business plan template will point you down the right path.

Copy our free simple business plan template so you can fill in the blanks as we explore each element of your business plan. Need help getting your ideas flowing? You’ll also find several startup scenario examples below.

Download free template as .docx

Whether you need a quick-launch overview or an in-depth plan for investors, any business plan should cover the six key elements outlined in our free template and explained below. The main difference in starting a small business versus an investor-funded business is the market research and operational and financial details needed to support the concept.

1. Your Mission or Vision

Start by declaring a “dream statement” for your business. You can call this your executive summary, vision statement or mission. Whatever the name, the first part of your business plan summarizes your idea by answering five questions. Keep it brief, such as an elevator pitch. You’ll expand these answers in the following sections of the simple business plan template.

• What does your business do? Are you selling products, services, information or a combination?
• Where does this happen? Will you conduct business online, in-store, via mobile means or in a specific location or environment?
• Who does your business benefit? Who is your target market and ideal customer for your concept?
• Why would potential customers care? What would make your ideal customers take notice of your business?
• How do your products and/or services outshine the competition? What would make your ideal customers choose you over a competitor?

These answers come easily if you have a solid concept for your business, but don’t worry if you get stuck. Use the rest of your plan template to brainstorm ideas and tactics. You’ll quickly find these answers and possibly new directions as you explore your ideas and options.

2. Offer and Value Proposition

This is where you detail your offer, such as selling products, providing services or both, and why anyone would care. That’s the value proposition. Specifically, you’ll expand on your answers to the first and fourth bullets from your mission/vision.

As you complete this section, you might find that exploring value propositions uncovers marketable business opportunities that you hadn’t yet considered. So spend some time brainstorming the possibilities in this section.

For example, a cottage baker startup specializing in gluten-free or keto-friendly products might be a value proposition that certain audiences care deeply about. Plus, you could expand on that value proposition by offering wedding and other special-occasion cakes that incorporate gluten-free, keto-friendly and traditional cake elements that all guests can enjoy.

3. Audience and Ideal Customer

Here is where you explore bullet point number three, who your business will benefit. Identifying your ideal customer and exploring a broader audience for your goods or services is essential in defining your sales and marketing strategies, plus it helps fine-tune what you offer.

There are many ways to research potential audiences, but a shortcut is to simply identify a problem that people have that your product or service can solve. If you start from the position of being a problem solver, it’s easy to define your audience and describe the wants and needs of your ideal customer for marketing efforts.

Using the cottage baker startup example, a problem people might have is finding fresh-baked gluten-free or keto-friendly sweets. Examining the wants and needs of these people might reveal a target audience that is health-conscious or possibly dealing with health issues and willing to spend more for hard-to-find items.

However, it’s essential to have a customer base that can support your business. You can be too specialized. For example, our baker startup can attract a broader audience and boost revenue by offering a wider selection of traditional baked goods alongside its gluten-free and keto-focused specialties.

4. Revenue Streams, Sales Channels and Marketing

Thanks to our internet-driven economy, startups have many revenue opportunities and can connect with target audiences through various channels. Revenue streams and sales channels also serve as marketing vehicles, so you can cover all three in this section.

Revenue Streams

Revenue streams are the many ways you can make money in your business. In your plan template, list how you’ll make money upon launch, plus include ideas for future expansion. The income possibilities just might surprise you.

For example, our cottage baker startup might consider these revenue streams:

• Product sales : Online, pop-up shops , wholesale and (future) in-store sales
• Affiliate income : Monetize blog and social media posts with affiliate links
• Advertising income : Reserve website space for advertising
• E-book sales : (future) Publish recipe e-books targeting gluten-free and keto-friendly dessert niches
• Video income : (future) Monetize a YouTube channel featuring how-to videos for the gluten-free and keto-friendly dessert niches
• Webinars and online classes : (future) Monetize coaching-style webinars and online classes covering specialty baking tips and techniques
• Members-only content : (future) Monetize a members-only section of the website for specialty content to complement webinars and online classes
• Franchise : (future) Monetize a specialty cottage bakery concept and sell to franchise entrepreneurs

Sales Channels

Sales channels put your revenue streams into action. This section also answers the “where will this happen” question in the second bullet of your vision.

The product sales channels for our cottage bakery example can include:

• Mobile point-of-sale (POS) : A mobile platform such as Shopify or Square POS for managing in-person sales at local farmers’ markets, fairs and festivals
• E-commerce platform : An online store such as Shopify, Square or WooCommerce for online retail sales and wholesale sales orders
• Social media channels : Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest shoppable posts and pins for online sales via social media channels
• Brick-and-mortar location : For in-store sales , once the business has grown to a point that it can support a physical location

Channels that support other income streams might include:

• Affiliate income : Blog section on the e-commerce website and affiliate partner accounts
• Advertising income : Reserved advertising spaces on the e-commerce website
• E-book sales : Amazon e-book sales via Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing
• Video income : YouTube channel with ad monetization
• Webinars and online classes : Online class and webinar platforms that support member accounts, recordings and playback
• Members-only content : Password-protected website content using membership apps such as MemberPress

Nowadays, the line between marketing and sales channels is blurred. Social media outlets, e-books, websites, blogs and videos serve as both marketing tools and income opportunities. Since most are free and those with advertising options are extremely economical, these are ideal marketing outlets for lean startups.

However, many businesses still find value in traditional advertising such as local radio, television, direct mail, newspapers and magazines. You can include these advertising costs in your simple business plan template to help build a marketing plan and budget.

5. Structure, Suppliers and Operations

This section of your simple business plan template explores how to structure and operate your business. Details include the type of business organization your startup will take, roles and responsibilities, supplier logistics and day-to-day operations. Also, include any certifications or permits needed to launch your enterprise in this section.

Our cottage baker example might use a structure and startup plan such as this:

• Business structure : Sole proprietorship with a “doing business as” (DBA) .
• Permits and certifications : County-issued food handling permit and state cottage food certification for home-based food production. Option, check into certified commercial kitchen rentals.
• Roles and responsibilities : Solopreneur, all roles and responsibilities with the owner.
• Supply chain : Bulk ingredients and food packaging via Sam’s Club, Costco, Amazon Prime with annual membership costs. Uline for shipping supplies; no membership needed.
• Day-to-day operations : Source ingredients and bake three days per week to fulfill local and online orders. Reserve time for specialty sales, wholesale partner orders and market events as needed. Ship online orders on alternating days. Update website and create marketing and affiliate blog posts on non-shipping days.

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6. Financial Forecasts

Your final task is to list forecasted business startup and ongoing costs and profit projections in your simple business plan template. Thanks to free business tools such as Square and free marketing on social media, lean startups can launch with few upfront costs. In many cases, cost of goods, shipping and packaging, business permits and printing for business cards are your only out-of-pocket expenses.

Cost Forecast

Our cottage baker’s forecasted lean startup costs might include:

Gross Profit Projections

This helps you determine the retail prices and sales volume required to keep your business running and, hopefully, earn income for yourself. Use product research to spot target retail prices for your goods, then subtract your cost of goods, such as hourly rate, raw goods and supplier costs. The total amount is your gross profit per item or service.

Here are some examples of projected gross profits for our cottage baker:

Bottom Line

Putting careful thought and detail in a business plan is always beneficial, but don’t get so bogged down in planning that you never hit the start button to launch your business . Also, remember that business plans aren’t set in stone. Markets, audiences and technologies change, and so will your goals and means of achieving them. Think of your business plan as a living document and regularly revisit, expand and restructure it as market opportunities and business growth demand.

Is there a template for a business plan?

You can copy our free business plan template and fill in the blanks or customize it in Google Docs, Microsoft Word or another word processing app. This free business plan template includes the six key elements that any entrepreneur needs to consider when launching a new business.

What does a simple business plan include?

A simple business plan is a one- to two-page overview covering six key elements that any budding entrepreneur needs to consider when launching a startup. These include your vision or mission, product or service offering, target audience, revenue streams and sales channels, structure and operations, and financial forecasts.

How can I create a free business plan template?

Start with our free business plan template that covers the six essential elements of a startup. Once downloaded, you can edit this document in Google Docs or another word processing app and add new sections or subsections to your plan template to meet your specific business plan needs.

What basic items should be included in a business plan?

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Krista Fabregas is a seasoned eCommerce and online content pro sharing more than 20 years of hands-on know-how with those looking to launch and grow tech-forward businesses. Her expertise includes eCommerce startups and growth, SMB operations and logistics, website platforms, payment systems, side-gig and affiliate income, and multichannel marketing. Krista holds a bachelor's degree in English from The University of Texas at Austin and held senior positions at NASA, a Fortune 100 company, and several online startups.

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East Coast port strike looms for first time since 1977. Here's what to know.

By Kate Gibson

Edited By Alain Sherter

Updated on: September 26, 2024 / 11:41 PM EDT / CBS News

Thousands of dockworkers at every major East and Gulf coast port are girding to strike starting early next week, threatening to close trade gateways that handle about half of all goods shipped in containers in and out of the U.S.

Negotiations between the union representing dockworkers and a shipping industry group representing terminal operators and ocean carriers have been stalled for months, with both sides this week issuing conflicting statements about their willingness to bargain.

The United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) has filed an unfair labor practice with the National Labor Relations Board requesting "immediate injunctive relief — requiring the union to resume bargaining — so we can negotiate a deal," the alliance said Thursday.

The NLRB confirmed it had received the unfair labor practice charge, which is being docketed by its regional office in Newark, New Jersey. The charge will appear on the agency's website in the next few days, after which an investigation would begin.

Experts say a shutdown could severely hamper the flow of goods and raise shipping costs. Any spike in such expenses could be passed on to consumers just as U.S. inflation normalizes, and even potentially hinder the Federal Reserve as it finally pivots to  lowering interest rates .

Here's what to know about the labor fight, which would be the first mass work stoppage at eastern ports in nearly half a century.

What are the key issues in the labor dispute?

The union representing 45,000 dockworkers, the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA), is threatening to strike at ports from Massachusetts to Texas if a new labor deal with the USMX isn't reached before the current contract expires at midnight on September 30. A walkout would be the first East Coast dock strike since 1977. 

A total of 14 ports involving some 25,000 workers could be affected by the strike, according to USMX: Baltimore; Boston; Charleston, South Carolina; Jacksonville, Florida; Miami; Houston; Mobile, Alabama; New Orleans; New York/New Jersey; Norfolk, Virginia; Philadelphia; Savannah, Georgia; Tampa, Florida; and Wilmington, Delaware.

Union workers at ports in the East Coast and Gulf Coast earn a base wage of $39 an hour after six years on the job. That is significantly less than their unionized West Coast peers, who make $54.85 an hour — a rate that will increase to $60.85 in 2027, excluding overtime and benefits. 

Assuming a 40-hour workweek, West Coast port workers are making more than $116,000 a year, versus $81,000 for their counterparts in the East. The ILA's initial demands included a 77% wage hike over six-year contract, with the labor group arguing that the increased pay would make up for the surge in U.S. inflation in recent years. 

The USMX in August offered what it called an "industry leading" pay hike, but the sides remain far apart. 

"Mark my words, we'll shut them down October 1 if we don't get the kind of wages we deserve," Harold Daggett, president of the ILA, said earlier in the month. 

Yet the differences are not only over pay. To protect job security, the ILA is demanding a complete ban on the automation of cranes, gates and container movements used in the loading or unloading of cargo.

The Maritime Alliance said it offered to maintain provisions in the current contract barring fully automated terminals, while also banning use of semi-automated equipment in a new labor agreement. 

Unable to bridge the divide, the ILA in June suspended negotiations with USMX,  saying  the use of automated gates to let trucks enter ports without ILA labor violated its existing labor agreement. 

What impact could a strike have?

The ports that could close in a strike handle more than 68% of all containerized exports in the U.S. and roughly 56% of containerized imports, according to industry data. So even a short strike would cause significant disruptions in regional trade flows. One analysis estimated that could cost the U.S. economy as much $5 billion a day.

For example, heavier vehicle traffic is likely at key points around the nation as freight is diverted to West Coast ports. For every day of a port strike, it would take four to six days to catch up with the backlog in ships, analysts say. Although West Coast terminals could absorb some cargo diverted from eastern ports, they couldn't handle it all, nor could the U.S. rail system, experts say.

Should a strike persist longer than a month or so, some companies could face shortages of parts and other inputs. The auto and pharmaceutical industries, which maintain lean inventories, could be particularly affected. Exports of cars and other products that are moved through the East Coast could be impacted. 

In addition, a strike could hamper shipments of products such as bananas, manufacturing components and plywood, interrupting the flow both of consumer goods and industrial parts for factories. Fresh meat and other refrigerated food could spoil, resulting in shortages and increased prices.

"I think everyone's a bit nervous about it," said Mia Ginter, director of North America ocean shipping for C.H. Robinson, a logistics company. "The rhetoric this time with the ILA is at a level we haven't seen before." 

The ripple effects of a strike would affect other related work, especially in warehousing and transport, meaning up to 105,000 workers could find themselves temporarily out of work, estimates Oxford Economics. 

The labor dispute also comes at a time when the Federal Reserve is closely monitoring the labor market for signs of weakening. 

"In principle, the Fed should look through any temporary weakness, but it might be difficult to separate the noise from the signal. Therefore, the strike would increase the odds of another 50 basis point cut in November," Grace Zwemmer, associate U.S. economist, Oxford Economics, wrote in a Thursday research note.

How are companies preparing?

By contrast, consumers probably wouldn't notice shortages of store goods during the holiday shopping season, as most products are already housed in warehouses after being transported ahead.

Jonathan Chappel, senior managing director of transportation at Evercore ISI, an investment research firm, said a strike would not mean "Santa's not showing up." 

Imports to U.S. ports are running 10% ahead of where they were last year, indicating that some cargo had been shipped in expectations of a strike, according to Ben Nolan, a transportation analyst at investment bank Stifel.

"Many retailers have already taken steps to mitigate the potential impact of a strike by bringing in products earlier or shifting products to the West Coast," said Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation. 

Still, given the complexity and interconnectedness of global supply chains, "Even a minor disruption would have a negative impact and cause delays at a critical time for both retailers and consumers," he added.

The ILA on Wednesday said its members would continue to handle all military cargo in the event of a strike, and would also continue to work passenger cruise vessels so as not to inconvenience "the tens of thousands of Americans who have booked trips in advance."

Could there be a political solution?

If a strike were deemed to threaten national health or safety, under the  Taft-Hartley Act President Joe Biden could seek a court order for an 80-day cooling-off period. 

Although a Biden administration official tells CBS News that the U.S. Labor Department is monitoring the situation and has been in touch with the sides, there are currently no plans to get involved in the talks.

"We've never invoked Taft-Hartley to break a strike and are not considering doing so now," the White House told CBS News.

By contrast, the Biden administration has in recent years intervened to resolve potentially disruptive labor disputes. 

In 2022, Mr. Biden and Congress stepped in to prevent a railroad strike, with the president signing legislation crafted by lawmakers to impose a tentative deal on dozens of unions representing 115,000 workers. And in 2023, Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su played a key role in brokering a deal to avert a strike and broker a new labor deal for West Coast dockworkers . 

The union's leverage is also stronger ahead of the presidential election as candidates vie for the labor vote, and with visions of clogged ports and product shortages during the pandemic still in voters' minds. 

"If ever there was a time that labor can get what they want," Stifel's Nolan said, "it's right now."

Some observers think that when push comes to shove, Mr. Biden would act to prevent the walkout. 

It's unlikely that the U.S. government would intervene as promptly as Canada did in a labor dispute that shut down the country's rail traffic last month, when the Canadian government ordered railroads to enter binding arbitration less than a day in, noted Zwemmer at Oxford Economics.

"However, if the strike lasts for several weeks, the odds of government involvement in the negotiations will rise, especially with the presidential election rapidly approaching," the economist stated.

"The potential strike at East and Gulf Coast ports is unlikely to trigger any major economic disruption because we strongly suspect that, this close to the election and despite denials ahead of time, President Biden would have little choice but to step in and invoke back-to-work legislation," analysts at Capital Economics wrote. 

The Associated Press and Willie James Inman contributed to this report.

Kate Gibson is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch in New York, where she covers business and consumer finance.

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What We Know About Kamala Harris’s $5 Trillion Tax Plan So Far

The vice president supports the tax increases proposed by the Biden White House, according to her campaign.

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By Andrew Duehren

Reporting from Washington

In a campaign otherwise light on policy specifics, Vice President Kamala Harris this week quietly rolled out her most detailed, far-ranging proposal yet: nearly $5 trillion in tax increases over a decade.

That’s how much more revenue the federal government would raise if it adopted a number of tax increases that President Biden proposed in the spring . Ms. Harris’s campaign said this week that she supported those tax hikes, which were thoroughly laid out in the most recent federal budget plan prepared by the Biden administration.

No one making less than $400,000 a year would see their taxes go up under the plan. Instead, Ms. Harris is seeking to significantly raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans and large corporations. Congress has previously rejected many of these tax ideas, even when Democrats controlled both chambers.

While tax policy is right now a subplot in a turbulent presidential campaign, it will be a primary policy issue in Washington next year. The next president will have to work with Congress to address the tax cuts Donald J. Trump signed into law in 2017. Many of those tax cuts expire after 2025, meaning millions of Americans will see their taxes go up if lawmakers don’t reach a deal next year.

Here’s an overview of what we now know — and still don’t know — about the Democratic nominee’s views on taxes.

Higher taxes on corporations

The most recent White House budget includes several proposals that would raise taxes on large corporations . Chief among them is raising the corporate tax rate to 28 percent from 21 percent, a step that the Treasury Department estimated could bring in $1.3 trillion in revenue over the next 10 years.

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