It’s always a good time to find ways to push your business forward, but it’s also true that life, well, doesn’t present too many opportunities that make striding forward all that appealing. But the new year does present an opportunity to change things, and especially this year, where we will not only transition into a new year, but an entirely new decade.

So if you’re going to make a leap forward, this is probably the time to do it. But how? We take a look at a few tried and tested methods below.

Assess the Present

In order to figure out where you’re going, you first need to figure out where you are. Before making too many steps forward, look at where you currently are. A little bit of self-analysis is always handy in business, since it can show you what you’re doing well, what you’re doing poorly, and what you’re not doing at all. By the end of the thorough interrogation of your own business, you’ll likely have a good idea of which areas you need to improve. If you don’t think you’re capable of analyzing your business all that well, you can bring in an outsider to do the job for you.

New Markets

You may have started in your home office, but your business might have the capacity to travel much further than that. If you’re currently only serving one region, you can look at expanding your business so that you can widen your reach. In the modern world, it couldn’t be easier to step up and take your products and services to new markets. Indeed, you could even begin trading overseas, let alone in new corners of your country. This can be a big operation, however, so be sure that you have the time, money, and energy to make it a success.

Business Opportunities

Some companies think that the only way to grow is to build their customer base, but this isn’t true — you can also develop your business by working with other businesses. It’s all about collaboration! In the process, you’ll be making your business slightly bigger, learn new techniques from other companies, and gain access to a broader customer base. Of course, you can’t force through these types of collaborations. They have to make sense. A good starting point is to think thematically about your company, and figure out which other types of companies would work with what theme. Of course, the other company should not be a rival.

Improve Your Marketing

You might have excellent products and services, but it’s not going to be worth all that much if you’re not spreading the word about all the good things that your business can offer a customer. Now, it’s likely that you’re engaging in some sort of marketing, but the question is: how effective is it? If you’ve been running things on autopilot for too long, or you lack the skills needed to really market your business well, then look at making some changes. It’s always possible to give your marketing skills a boost; this Legendary Marketer review talks about how the program gives you the training and resources you need to succeed, for instance. If you have the skills, but you haven’t been using them as well as you could have been, then keep an eye on the marketing trends of 2020, and incorporate them into your strategy.

New Products and Services

If things are ticking along with your business just fine, then you could look at stretching yourself a little by adding new products and services to your company. Not only will this help raise the standards of what your company could be, it’ll also drive extra revenue and may even make your work more fun. Of course, you shouldn’t go overboard (make sure everything you’re adding makes some sense to your business), and also make sure that you’re keeping the main focus on your primary duties.

Refresh Your Energy

Finally, if you want to push your company forward in the coming year, then look at giving yourself a rest. How does this work? Well, it’s hard to take strides forward when you’re running low on energy. Some times, the best thing you can do for your business is to take a week off. You’ll find that you return to work feeling refreshed and renewed, and ready to take on new projects that you’ve thought up. Everything’s easier to do when we’re full of energy and eager to get down to work.