You have made it through January and now are settled into the year.  It is a great time to make appointments with your advisors to make sure that this time next year, you are still successful!  So pick up the phone or write an email and set up appointments with the following:

1. Your CPA.  This is a no-brainer.  Your taxes are due soon so schedule an appointment with your CPA today.  Your CPA will help determine what you owe, if there are tax breaks available to you, and should help you plan for next future to limit your tax liability.
2. Your investment advisor.  If your CPA determines that having a retirement plan is beneficial, meet with your investment advisor to see what options are available for you.  There are multiple options available (SEP, SIMPLE, 401k, IRA, etc.) with each option having advantages and disadvantages.  You should also ask if there are non-traditional investments that may be wise (think real estate bought by your 401k).
3. Your banker.  If your CPA determines that refinancing loans is in your future, speak with your banker about options to lower your interest rates.  Even if refinancing isn’t in your future, if you haven’t sat down with someone at your bank for a long time (or since you set up your account), there may be changes to your account with all the recent banking issues such as new fees, new monthly charges, or new rules.  Depending on the fees and charges, you may need to change account types or change banks.
4. Your marketer.  February is a great month to set up your marketing plan for the year.  Meet with your marketer to see what goals you should have for this year and to set up your budget.  Is a new website in your future?  How about a new logo?  Do you want to do offline marketing such as sending out pens or other items with your logo on it?  Start thinking now about where you want your business to be next year this time and five years from now.
5. Your mortgage broker or landlord.  Depending on your interest rates for you home and/or building housing your business, refinancing when rates are at a all time low may help you save money every month.  If you have business property, this may bring down your payments to help you with other things (like marketing above).  If you have a landlord, it may be harder to change your lease, but it is something that you many want to look at.