New Year’s Resolutions for Your Home Office or Small Business

Even though most people are hooked on top 10 lists, there are just too many good New Year’s resolutions for your home office or small business to limit them to just how many can be counted on two hands. Consider these resolutions (in no particular order of importance):

Look Back
Remember that business plan? Pull it off the shelf and review the goals and objectives you set last year. Did you accomplish them? If not, why not? By the way, if you don’t have a business plan, this would be a good year to create one. There are a variety of software and Internet resources that can come to your assistance.

Become Part of a Business Network
If you run a home-based business, you can’t take advantage of a storefront sign that advertises your business. Consider joining your local Chamber of Commerce and other business support groups. It will be easy to evaluate what you’re getting in return for your membership expense. You can give workshops, offer organizational discounts and monitor whether or not sales are coming from other group members.

Think about the Internet
Is this a good year to put your business online? Take a look at the demographics of your customers. Typically, online customers are younger, have higher incomes and have more education. If these are your customers, maybe it’s time to set up a Web site. If you already have a site, this year might be a good time to refresh it and make it more effective.

Check Your Expenses
Determine if your expenses are contributing to your sales. If an expense doesn’t help bring about a sale in some way, then you shouldn’t spend the money. Don’t repeat those expenses in the next year, and use that money as part of your business contingency fund.

Establish a Business Checking Account
If you pay estimated taxes, you should have a separate checking account with your bank or brokerage firm. At the end of each month, take 30 percent of your gross income and deposit it into an escrow account. Now you will have the money for your quarterly payments when they come due. Don’t use this business account for anything else.

Draw Up a Buy-Sell Agreement
If you have partners, ask your attorney to draw up a Buy-Sell Agreement. Why? In the case of a partner’s death, disability, divorce, bankruptcy or withdrawal from the business, you will not have to deal with a complete stranger as your brand-new partner.

Acquire Long-Term Care and Disability Insurance
Long-term care insurance for you (and your spouse) will mean you—or your kids—won’t have to sell the business if you enter a long-term care facility such as a nursing home. Disability insurance means that you will still have an income if you (or your spouse) should become unable to work due to illness or injury.

Don’t Use Those Credit Cards
If you can’t pay for something with cash, you probably don’t need it.

Always Promote Your Business
Don’t rely on one marketing effort a year. Plan quarterly or even monthly marketing efforts and be sure to follow through and track the results of each marketing program.

Survey Your Customers and Suppliers
You may be doing things that are costing you relationships with your customers or your suppliers without even realizing it. Find out what you’re doing right or wrong by asking clients what they like and dislike about working with you. And make a plan to correct the mistakes your customers point out.

Establish Business Performance Measures
Determine the measurements for how your business is doing, and pay attention to the indicators that feed into that measurement. Don’t waste time—your own or your staff’s—compiling reports that you never use.

Stay Out of Human Resource Compliance Trouble
If you don’t have a human resource manager or department, you may not be aware of all the compliance laws regarding employees. Violating those laws could cause you endless legal and financial headaches. Hire an outside consultant to review your human resource policies and alert you to anything you’re doing wrong.

Who Are Your Top 10 Customers?
List your top 10 customers by sales volume and let everyone in your business know who they are. Find out what geographical location they are in and other aspects that make them similar. Think of what more you can do for them and how you can find more customers just like them.

Acquire a Coach or Mentor
Ask others to help you build accountability into your personal planning and help you achieve your goals. Professional coaches or a mentor you look up to can give you effective feedback and help you focus on making your business a success.

List Your Accomplishments
How about all the good things that happened this year? List your accomplishments for the year, share them with your employees and feel good about them. You can also examine them to see what actions you took to make the accomplishment happen and how you can use those actions to increase future business.

Get Organized
Review our article on developing a comprehensive record system and try some of those techniques to set up a system and get organized. Create an accountability method to make sure you are maintaining your organizational processes and goals.

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