Welcome to the new Working Solo Minute, the 60-second newsletter designed specifically for solo entrepreneurs. You're receiving this email newsletter because you have requested it. Names are never bartered, shared, sold or used for any other purpose; 100% confirmed subscribers.

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As mentioned in my last newsletter, this new version offers smaller bits of news on weekly basis. While the format has changed, the basics remain: solid, "real world" information you can use immediately to grow a profitable solo business. -- Terri Lonier

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http://www.workingsolo.com/minute001.html

A New Year, filled with promise… and a blank slate upon which to chart your solo business. Are there things you always do the first week of the New Year? Here are a few of mine:

Set up your financial files (and here's a list to guide you).
I pull out a box of third-cut manila file folders, fire up my trusty LabelWriter, and create a set of new files for bills, receipts, and other financial paperwork. I’ve been using the same general list of file names for some time, and a few years ago I actually got smart enough to save the list as a Word document so all I need to do is copy/paste the text into my labelmaker software. (Want a copy of my list? I’ve posted it here on the Working Solo Web site.)

These empty folders replace all the past year’s files which get transferred to a cardboard banker box that lingers in my office for another few weeks awaiting final bills, receipts, and other paperwork from the year. Ultimately, last year’s box gets sent to storage (in my case, a corner of my basement) – but clearly labeled, should I need to retrieve anything.

Set up your calendar. (Hint: Choose a format that works for you.)
Over the years I’ve used countless technological tools in attempts to corral my calendar and To-Do lists. Laptops, PDAs, digital note takers – I’ve tried them all. In the end, I’ve decided I work best as an ink-on-paper person. Studies show that there’s something about the physical act of writing that imprints the information, and it seems to work for me.

My calendar of choice is a Planner Pad, which has both a month-at-a-glance and daily calendar segments, along with an integrated To-Do list and other spaces for planning.

At the beginning of each year, I go through the calendar and mark out dates that are sacred – travel commitments, deadlines already known, business planning dates – and free time. I’ve learned that if you don’t chart these out in advance, they disappear or get forgotten.

What does it take to get your New Year off to its best start? Make it happen.

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