With the end of the year rapidly approaching, I decided to make annual planning the focus of this month’s issue of Good Small Business Reads. If you haven’t started doing so already, now is the time to begin thinking about what direction you want your business to take in 2014. Here are four articles to get you thinking:

• In “Annual Operations Plan for Managing Your Business,” author Tim Berry points out five main benefits for planning for small businesses and makes the point that annual business planning is not just for big corporations.

• In “Planning for Profits” from businesstown.com, you will learn that annual plans are about much more than just budget numbers.

• In a USA Today article entitled “Want to survive? Then it’s time for an annual small business plan,” The Planning Shop owner Rhonda Abrams provides an excellent agenda for an annual planning meeting that will get you and your team off to a great start on planning for the new year.

• Finally on this topic, a Houston Chronicle Small Business Q&A points out that keeping a close eye on changing market dynamics is a key part of strategic planning.

Bonus article: Do you give your employees year-end bonuses? If so, make sure you’re up on the tax rules. This article from the Small Business Administration will tell you what you need to know on this topic.

Happy reading and Thanksgiving everyone!