3 thoughts for the week of November 23, 2009 (ready for 2010?, end of year evaluations & Happy Thanksgiving)

1. This Thursday is Thanksgiving and that signals the definitive start of the Holiday Season. That’s how it goes: Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and then 2009 is all over. So, do you have your 2010 marketing plan all set to go? If not, that might be something you want to dedicate some time to. The next month tends to fly by and then a whole new year kicks off and everybody is scrambling to get things off the ground. Before you know it, it’s a week before Valentine’s Day and you need a promotion. As you are reviewing your books for the close of the year, it’s a great time to plan for the year to come. Check out Marketing Donut’s post on How to Prepare a Marketing Plan.
2. The end of the year is also a great time to reflect on your business as a whole. Small businesses and Entrepreneurs represent the fast growing sectors in our slowly recovering economy. These business owners, ourselves included, are hustling– wearing a 1000 hats and trying to be experts as every aspect of running a company. For a few supermen, this is easy. For the rest of us, there’s always something to learn. Fortunately, there is help and for once it is free. Yes, we said that right. Why not take advantage of the free business counseling offered by the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center (The SBA has a listing of other local chapters, click here) and make an appointment for a year end evaluation. Their advisors can give you an unbiased look into the health of you business and help you identify what you can improve as you move into 2010.
3. Can’t believe that Thanksgiving is already upon us. Time flies when you are having fun, or working entrepreneur hours, either way. We’d like to take a moment to reflect on what we are thankful for. We are most thankful for our families and their support as we started this new venture. We are thankful to our friends for being our sounding boards and helping us stay focussed and cut loose as needed. We are thankful to all our vendors, clients and associates who have helped us grow our company. We are thankful for all that we have learned and continue to learn. And we are thankful for the opportunity to do work that we love. What are some things you are thankful for?

We wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving.