New Year's Resolutions for Small Businesses
New Year’s Resolutions… the thought sends shivers down the spines of many.
The statistics are sobering. Only about 8% of people succeed at completing their resolutions.
Goal setting, however, can be a good thing- especially for small businesses. In fact, it is crucial to the future success of a business.
So what are some important resolutions that your business can make for the upcoming year? Here are a few:
Set Realistic Goals- It seems obvious, but goal setting is critical for success. What direction do you want to go? Where do you want to be in one month? Three? Six? Be specific with your plans and what it will take to get where you want. Be realistic with goals that are achievable. If goals are too far out of reach, it will lead to frustration.
Learn to Delegate- This is so important when running a small business. There are so many things to do, and just not enough time to do them all. Figure out which tasks are essential for you to do, and which ones really someone else- can do then hand them off. A healthy work-life balance is dependent on how well you can delegate.
Promote your business on a regular and consistent basis! With everything else on the “to-do” list of running a small business, marketing often gets pushed to the bottom- but if you want new customers, self-promotion is a must. If you can, hire a marketing expert, otherwise, create a marketing plan on your own and follow through. There are free and low cost ideas online.
Join a networking group- Getting together with like-minded business people is essential for sparking new ideas and making new contacts. Most metro areas have in person networking groups that meet weekly or monthly. There are also networking groups online.
Give back to your community- Find a cause that matters to you and give what you can- whether it is time or money, or something else. You can serve on a committee, be a mentor, volunteer, or make donations to groups, schools, or churches that make your community a better place.
Be sure to jot these things down, so that when the excitement of the New Year wears off, you are still focused on implementing real change that can make your small business better.
