6 Work Weeks (or Less) Until 2009

1. Nov-17: the last full week before Thanksgiving, if you are trying to close business it can get much harder between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day [Full Week]
2. Nov-24: a half week at best. [Half-Week]
3. Dec-1: normally a good week [Full Week]
4. Dec-8: normally a good week [Full Week]
5. Dec-15: unless you are chasing end of year budget can be very slow [Half-Week]
6. Dec-22: normally a good time to reconnect with friends and family [Full Week for hermits]
7. Dec-29: last chance to file paperwork with a 2008 deadline [Half-Week; Full Week actually but halfway through it you are in 2009]

Some logistics issues you should take care of now instead of early 2009:

• If this is your first year in business get your accounting system (in most cases in the US this will be QuickBooks) in order now, schedule a meeting with your accountant (or interview candidates and select one) before December 15. If you are based in Silicon Valley we are huge fans of Ogden Lilly.
• If you are not chasing active opportunities the first two weeks in a December this can be a good time to sit down for a recap of 2008 and some planning for 2009. You may want to do the recap the week of Dec-1 or Dec-8 and the planning the week of Dec-29.
• If you’ve been working on a startup but haven’t incorporated yet, you may want to get all of your paperwork in order but postpone filing until the first week in January, in some states this will save you paying 2008 annual fees for a few weeks of operation in December and then 2009 annual fees. We like to see teams incorporate sooner rather than later if only because it gives you a vehicle to do business with that’s better than a collection of sole proprietorships.

We will have our normal Bootstrappers Breakfasts in December, RSVP now we would be delighted to see you. If you’ve been meaning to come for a while, find time in December and see if it’s something you want to make a habit in 2009

• Friday December 5th at 7:30am at Hobee’s in Palo Alto
• Friday December 12th at 7:30am at Omega Restaurant in Milpitas
• Tuesday December 16 at 7:30am at Cocos in Sunnyvale