I know, it’s only November, but time goes by quick. As we approach the end of the year, there are a few things I like to do to start the new year fresh and hassle-free. Though I don’t necessarily send in my taxes at the very beginning of January, I like to have all of my accounts in order so I can close out the old year and get on with the new. I also like to file away old clients to make room for new,and assess my current financial situation. Here are a few things I do before the end of the year. Perhaps they’ll help you in making a positive start to 2008.
- Go over your books – Make sure all your invoices are paid up before December 31st.
- Gather all of your receipts – Organize all of your receipts, especially those considered business expenses.
- Compare your income vs. hours worked – Are you making a profit? Does the end justify the means? If not, adjust your rate and announce new rates beginning in January.
- Go over your client list – If business is keeping you too busy determine whether or not you need to drop any of your lower paying or more difficult clients.
- Donate old office equipment – If you have computers, cell phones, and other office equipment gathering dust because they’ve been replaced, donate them as a tax write-off to your favorite charity.
- Clean out your file cabinets – Clean out and organize all of your drawers and files. Start the year fresh.
- Get a brand new calendar – Start filling the 2008 pages with assignments now.
- Do some research – Read up on the predicted trends for 2008. What types of articles and projects will your clients need? Where is your industry headed next year? Who will be the big movers and shakers? What are some of the new products coming out? Do your research and get ahead of the curve.
- Clean up your computer – Check all your bookmarks and clean out the ones that don’t work or no longer interest you. Ditto RSS feeds. Save images and past client work on discs or flash drives to free up some memory. Get rid of old or obsolete programs and files.
I know time is an issue for a lot of freelancers, but I’m of the opinion that if you do this stuff before the end of the year, it’ll save you the last minute rushing around stuff. My husband’s family celebrates the Chinese New Year and they believe in cleaning everything from top to bottom to welcome in a fresh start. I really do believe this sort of thinking helps for a positive beginning to the new year. Get your freelance business in order now, you’ll starting out fresh in January.
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November 23rd, 2007 at 10:48 pm
Excellent ideas! We’re moving into a fantastic new apartment in December and it’s forcing me to really do an overhaul of papers and clutter. I hadn’t thought of cleaning up my computer though, but I like the idea of a fresh start. Thanks!
November 23rd, 2007 at 11:27 pm
I love fresh starts! All of these ideas are great. I can’t believe a new year is so close ;0)
November 23rd, 2007 at 11:36 pm
And I’m taking a rest after going seven whole months without it! Granted, I’m sick so I’m forced to go on a break. But a vacation is a vacation no matter the reason.
November 24th, 2007 at 1:08 am
@Mariella - Feel better. It sucks to be sick, for sure, but sometimes it’s what we need to force us into down time!
Amanda & Michele - I really do believe in a fresh start for the new year. It just changes your whole outlook. No clutter, just the future!
November 24th, 2007 at 2:06 am
Excellent post! Thanks Deb!
November 24th, 2007 at 3:06 am
All this reminds me that I need to get better organized for next year. I don’t think I’ve bothered to track my hours most of the time this year. Something to add to the to do list!
November 24th, 2007 at 4:06 am
gah. I need to hire an assistant. thank god my husbnad is a tax man and takes care of some of that. but this post gave me some stress!
November 24th, 2007 at 4:22 am
Hey out there,
ah, if I may come in here with a suggestion for point 2:
There is this site http://www.shoeboxed.com, that organizes your receipts for free and automatically (and with a touch of social shopping). I thought I might just add that to your excellent article, if thats ok?
happy thanksgiving,
julian
November 24th, 2007 at 11:46 am
Oh, Deb, you’re so organized. I currently can’t even get to my filing cabinet. There is a tall pile of books and a frog cage in front of it. If I showed you my laptop desktop you would die. The only thing I do have organized is receipts and business expenses, but only because I scan them and email them to myself into a folder marked ACCOUNTANT. Otherwise, per the threat of two years ago, she will choke me. Apparently crumpled up in a shoe box is not the way to go.
November 24th, 2007 at 11:48 am
P.S. If your husband is looking for additional cleaning projects for this Chinese new year, please send him over.
November 24th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
@Deb>> Thanks Deb! I think an illness is the only thing that could convince me to take a full month’s break from work. That actually sounds quite sad, but so true.
And yay for Chinese New Year! My family celebrates it too. ♥
November 24th, 2007 at 7:38 pm
Organization suggestion: Devote a certain amount of time each day. Typically, I work on it from the time I get up til I run a daughter to school. Still need more time, however. I had used weekends, too, but clients seem to come up with a lot of projects on Thursday that they need on Monday, so that’s gone by the wayside.
November 24th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
I’m going to go over the list of online platforms I use for my freelance writing and figure which is the best I should keep on using…
November 26th, 2007 at 4:34 am
Posted this in part with a link back to your blog–a great article with such useful information!!
December 2nd, 2007 at 8:40 am
As a tax consultant to writers and other indies for 25 years I know that writers need all the business and tax help they can get. For instance, very few of them know that about 35% of their net income needs to be earmarked for taxes.
It’s so good to see sites for writers doing their best to inform freelancers about the business side of their writing. Nice work!
June Walker
PS: You might be interested in the post, 10 Tax-saving Tips for Writers, and a free list of business expenses available at junewalkeronline.blogspot.com.