What Will the 2021 Economy Hold in Store? No Matter What, Prepare Your Small Business!

Are you nervous about 2021?

You’re not alone. The last year has been a rollercoaster ride for small businesses across Canada, and many aren’t sure where to go from here. There could be a vaccine on the way that will help get everything back on track, or we could be facing new lockdowns. Who knows? Your small business needs to be prepared, no matter what 2021 has in store!

Here are some of the areas we’ve been focusing on with our clients to help prepare them for the upcoming year:

Revamp Your At-Home Workspace

Did you start working at home after the pandemic hit? If so, you’ve probably settled into a comfortable groove by now.

Working from home brings entirely new challenges to the fore. Sure, you have all of the technology you need to get your work done, but there are also new distractions. Kids, spouses, housework, and inadequate office space can get in the way of doing your daily tasks. The best way to combat this is to revamp your workspace!

This revamp doesn’t necessarily mean you have to change the physical area of your at-home office, though in some cases that might be required. Instead, you can do a little digital restructuring. For example, create a separate user account on your computer you solely use for work. You can even put some restrictions on this account to prevent easy-access to distractions like YouTube. Simply having a second work-based account can help to get you into the right headspace for productive at-home work.

Use Virtual Employees

The pandemic has rapidly advanced the rise of remote work tools. These tools, such as Zoom, have become mainstream and are poised to continue changing the work landscape over the next year.

To keep current, why not consider hiring some additional virtual help? At a fraction of the cost of in-person employees, virtual workers can complete many of the same tasks from provinces away.

Connecting virtually with our clients is something that we’ve been doing for years at The Number Works. By connecting with our clients remotely, we can do all of their books from our own workspace while still effectively communicating through Zoom and other productivity tools. As a virtual bookkeeping, accounting, and financial coaching firm, we know how important it is for our clients to have instant access to us. If you’ve been working virtually with us for years, why not explore similar relationships with virtual employees?

Keep Customers Front of Mind

Customers are the lifeblood of any small business.

Unfortunately, 2020 has not been kind to customer confidence. Many people are saving every cent, worried about what might come in 2021. The only way small businesses can combat this is by making sure they’re at the front and centre in their customers’ minds.

We highly recommend contacting your current customers or clients to see how the year has been treating them. Be sure to offer your help in any way that you can. If their needs have changed, can you alter your services to meet those needs? It might require you to offer them a temporary deal on your services, but that could be worth it to keep them on as customers!

Try New Methods of Marketing

Even if you’ve held onto your customer base, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be on the lookout for brand-new clients. To do this, you might need to stretch your marketing muscles.

Spending your marketing dollars online is a great way to get the best bang for your buck. Facebook ads, Twitter posts, Instagram Stories, and other social media tools are fantastic for connecting you with new customers or clients while also giving you a great return-on-investment. You could also consider creating a blog that will allow you to reach out to new customers with valuable content. There are so many potential customers online nowadays—don’t let your competitors get to them first!

Carefully Monitor Your Cash Flow

Truth be told, monitoring your cash flow is something you should be doing all the time, but it’s going to be especially vital in 2021.

We’ve been working closely with our clients in 2020 to lower their expenses and increase their profits. This can require you to dig deep into your books to find inefficiencies that could result in hundreds—or even thousands—of dollars of savings a year. Alternatively, you could let us do this for you since we know precisely what we’re looking for!

Don’t Forget About Your Taxes!

While tax deadlines were extended in 2020, don’t expect the same thing to happen in 2021.

That means you need your taxes to be finished ASAP. Don’t let the feeling of having just done your taxes a couple of months ago affect you. Instead, either crack open the books yourself or hire us to do it for you. We can help you find the deductions that will keep your business humming along during one of the most challenging times of the last thirty years.

If you’re looking for a professional accountant to help keep you on track in 2020, contact us today. At The Number Works, we’ll do whatever we can to keep your finances healthy and your books balanced going into the new year and beyond!

How to Create an Unstoppable Virtual Support Team for your Business

How to Create an Unstoppable Virtual Support Team for your Business

Are you a budding entrepreneur? If so, chances are you’re a natural-born risk-taker! But trying to do everything yourself as a business owner is a risk you really can’t afford to take.

Every business owner needs an unstoppable support team, and in today’s digital world, there’s no reason your rockin’ team can’t be a virtual one!

Not only can an unstoppable virtual support team make the difference between the success and failure of your fledgling business, but it will also help keep you sane. Seriously! So many small business owners exhaust themselves working countless hours to take care of their business. While I have great respect for all those hard-workers out there, a bit of assistance from a stellar support team can not only help reduce that frenetic pace, but also boost efficiency and allow your business to grow.

Go For the Best

Typically, an unstoppable support team is made up of two kinds of people: mentors and specialists. Some you hire, some you pay for, and some you find by networking and outreach. Of course, you want your team to be as cost-effectively as possible, but don’t be scared to pay for experience and expertise. Having savvy people by your side is an investment that pays off by saving you years of hard work and mistakes.

As soon as you begin to draft your business plan, you should be on the lookout for members to add to your virtual support team. It’s a great idea to make a list of everyone you know who might be able to help you and your business thrive. Think about family members, old friends from college, even friends of friends who might help you gain the perspective your business needs. Remember, if you believe the person is mature, experienced, and has some relevant know-how, then they could be valuable to you.

The best part about working with a virtual team member is that it doesn’t matter if they move away. Using tools like Slack, Trello, Skype, and good old-fashioned email, you can connect with your entire team, no matter where in the world they’re located.

Decide On Your Team Members

So, what’s the relevant know-how and experience you should be looking for in your virtual team members?

The makeup of a virtual support team might differ a bit based on the industry, but almost every company can benefit from these experts: a designer, a copywriter, an ad specialist, a virtual assistant, and, without a doubt, an accountant.

A talented graphic designer will ensure that all of your branding is flawless, giving your business a truly professional look. Don’t underestimate the power of graphics in today’s online world. Graphics are what catches the eye to entice people to buy from your business. Adding a graphic designer to your team will help communicate your message and enhance the overall feel of your brand story.

Eye-catching graphics are essential, but so is the text that goes with them. An excellent copywriter will get people to click that ‘buy now’ button in record time, making them a major asset when it comes to writing sales copy pieces like your marketing emails and sales pages.

Facebook and Instagram are some of the best advertising platforms out there, and their ROI can go through the roof… if you know what you’re doing! An ad specialist is someone who can create marketing materials that position your calls-to-action in a way that gets you what you’re looking for: more clicks, more sign-ups, and more clients.

A virtual assistant is an asset to any great support team. Virtual assistants are there to lighten your load and take care of more mundane, daily tasks, so you’re free to grow and scale your business. Virtual assistants can help you in so many ways, from taking care of your website to keeping your systems up and running. They may even be able to help the rest of your team with light design, copy, and marketing work.

Don’t Underestimate the Power of a Good Accountant

No matter what size or type of business you run, you’ll need a professional accountant on your team. Why? Because it’s vital that you accurately track and report all the cash flowing in and out of your accounts that have to do with sales, expenses, and salaries.

Properly managing your books is provincial and federal law, but most importantly, it’s the only way to gain an accurate assessment of how your business is operating.

A professional accountant will be able to provide you with the information you need to make informed financial decisions to help your business succeed. In fact, one of the most common reasons companies fail is because they don’t have a professional accountant on their team.

Plus, the expense of hiring an accountant often pays for itself! A professional accountant will know the ins and outs of tax law, ensuring you’re maximizing your deductions, claiming all your credits, and ending the tax year with the biggest return possible.

Leverage Professional Networking

So, now that you know precisely who you should have on your virtual team, don’t limit yourself to local industry meetups or inviting people out to coffee. The whole world is your networking oyster, thanks to the power of the internet.

To attract the right people, make sure you have a stellar LinkedIn profile and active social media accounts, including Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Joining Facebook groups is a fantastic way to network and find the perfect virtual team members, while your LinkedIn and other social media profiles are the best way to make a good first impression on your potential hires.

Contact The Number Works

If you’re in the middle of assembling an unstoppable virtual support team and need a professional accountant in your corner, you’ll want to work with The Number Works. We’re a virtual accounting, and financial coaching firm that helps creative entrepreneurs tell their financial story.

We offer a wide range of services, including full cycle accounting, financial statement analysis, strategic planning, and taxes. In other words, we’re your one-stop shop for all your business’ accounting needs in Hamilton and the surrounding Southern Ontario area.

Don’t hesitate to reach out and discover if we’re the right fit to join forces and help your business succeed.