Can you believe it? The year is coming to an end and it’s time to wind down 2013 and start planning for 2014 success.

Towards the end of the year, it’s super easy to get caught up in the craziness of the holiday season. However, it’s important to wind down, stay organized, and start planning for 2014.

Below are 4 tips to help you end the year on the right note and get on track for an awesome business in 2014.

1. Check in and track your progress

Review your goals for 2013 – track how you did – did you meet or exceed your goals? If so, celebrate. if not, try to identify the reasons why. Did you have a life event that made it difficult to make the goals? Were they too lofty or unrealistic? If you exceeded your goals, were they challenging enough to inspire more sales?

Learn more about goal setting for your business.

2. Get your accounting in order

You must make sure you have entered all of your sales and all of your expenses into an accounting program like quickbooks. Get advice from your tax accountant on exactly what they need from you for the end of the year. Take inventory so you know exactly what you have on hand.

You don’t want to mess around when it comes to accounting. Here are several great accounting tips for designers.

3. Create business goals for next year

Finally, it’s important to start planning for 2014. The key to creating effective goals is to make them ambitious and a courageous, but still achievable.

Consider this when writing your goals:

• actual sales from 2013

• desired sales and income for 2014

• percentage increase history

• seasonal trends for sales

4. Review and evaluate your processes and systems

The end of the year is the perfect time to look at what what systems and process you have set up. Analyze which ones are working and which ones aren’t. Your business is ever changing and your processes should be too. What worked well for your biz past year, may not work for the year ahead. Take the time to go over each each system you have set up. If you have employees, ask for their feedback – it’s important to get their input.

At the end of the year, it’s important to have your records and goals in order. You’ll feel relieved after the holidays when you have the freedom to start fresh in January working towards your 2014 goals.

In the comments below, we’d love to hear from you!

How are you preparing for to wind down 2013 to ring in 2014? If you have more actions you are taking to wind down for 2013, we’d love to hear about them.

If you are feeling unprepared, which of the following is the most overwhelming to you?

Pick up our 8 Sales and Marketing Tips Freebie now and get on track to have an amazing and successful 2014!