Web Worker 101: Year End Activities

The end of the calendar year is fast approaching, and all over the country “real” companies are having their holiday parties, complete with dubious appetizers and out-of-control coworkers. As an independent web worker, you probably don’t have that to look forward to (unless you’ve been fortunate enough to score an invitation to a client’s party), but that doesn’t mean that December 31 should just pass you by without notice.

Traditionally, the end of the year is a time for celebration, reflection, and tidying things up. Here are five things that the very small business or one-man-show should be thinking about in these last few days of 2007:

1. Catch up on your bookkeeping and call your accountant. We’ve discussed before the importance of making sure that you get your tax prep done before the end of the year. When midnight rolls around on December 31, it may be too late.

2. Reach out to customers. This is a good time of year to touch base with your customers, wish them happy holidays, and discuss their plans for the coming year (and how you can be of assistance in helping them succeed). If you didn’t already send paper cards, it’s probably too late. Personally, I shy away from e-cards in these days of too much spam; pick up the phone and make some calls instead.

3. Take a mini-retreat. Most businesses slow down this time of year. If yours is one of them, take a day yourself to really look at how your business is doing and where you want to go next year. Plan your budget, figure out your strategic direction, brainstorm about how to locate new clients, choose the software you’re going to really study in 2008.

4. Party offline or on. Just because you’re independent doesn’t mean you have to skip the holiday party. If you had a great year, take some of those funds and take yourself and your sweetie out to a good restaurant and celebrate the fact that you’re not working in a cubicle. If the year wasn’t all that great, order in pizza and spend the evening online with your buddies on Twitter, Facebook, or Second Life.

5. Take a vacation. We know that a lot of you never take vacations, but c’mon, nobody is working next week! If you can’t take time off for the holidays, you’ll never wean yourself from the computer. Try it, you might like it.

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