New Years Business Resolution Tips

In line with our New Year... New MWWAH Launch we've come up with some New Years Business Resolution Tips.

{New Years Business resolution tip #1} Goal setting is a valuable practice - as long as the goals lead to success rather than distress. Start with the more obtainable goals to build your motivation and confidence. Think of goal setting as the process of drawing the map. Paint the picture of where you would like to see yourself, and then write a list of actions that you’ll need to undertake to reach this goal

{New Years Business resolution tip #2} Learn something New! Learning something new will add to your skills and add a new dimension of interest to your life. Ask yourself where you feel your business knowledge weaknesses are then find a course or books that can help you to learn more. There are plenty of short courses that only require an hour or two a week, as well as online courses, blogs and web sites that can help you boost your business knowledge. Depending on how you choose to learn, you may meet new and interesting people, who may become customers, colleagues, or friends.

{New Years Business resolution tip #3} Delegate- we all want to work less and earn more. Here's one of the greatest secrets of time management: successful delegation. There are so many things to do when you're running a small business; it's easy to delude ourselves that we need to do all of them. Start by writing down every activity you undertake for an entire week, and then review the results. There are likely a number of activities that don't help you achieve your goals, or could be done by other team members. Focus on working to get those low-payoff activities either delegated or dumped. If you're a solo worker, perhaps consider outsourcing these duties to somebody you know who could do the work. Delegation is the key to a healthy work-life balance.

{New Years Business resolution tip #4} Put time for you on your calendar-take the time to recharge and refresh yourself; a healthy work-life balance demands time out. All work and no play is a recipe for mental and physical disaster. Try planning activities that require your attention out of the office and away from communication -- take a walk with your children, go camping for a weekend, or head to a museum and turn off your phone. If the thought of having an email-free evening scares you, your business is in control of you, and you're not in control of your business. Being smarter about how you spend your office time can allow you to enjoy more home time. If you won't invest in yourself, who will?

{New Years Business resolution tip #5} Find an efficient workspace -Working from home, distraction levels can be disastrous. I set aside a chunk of hours each week where I leave my home office to work. I put a timer on myself and my efficiency is far greater, as I go there, get my stuff done and go home again. Procrastination nearly disappears when I work away from my usual space. Spring clean your business. With a fresh year you should do your best to have a fresh start. That means cleaning out your inbox, ridding yourself of old messages taking up space. It means physically cleaning up the office. A chaotic mess of a workplace is unproductive and causes problems.

{New Years Business resolution tip #6} Remember the phone? Pick it up. Pick up the phone and engage. Don’t send an email. So much time is wasted with back and forth emails, where tone and content can be misunderstood. Don’t be afraid to have a good old chat, stop hiding behind your computers and social media pages. A phone call might take a little more time initially, but can eliminate all the in-between lag time in sending and awaiting response.

{New Years Business resolution tip  #7} Drop what's not working for you and move on. All products aren't going to be super sellers, all sales methods aren't going to work for everyone, and all suppliers or contractors aren't going to be ideally suited to your business. If a technique or a product or a business relationship isn't working for you, stop using it. Don't invest a lot of energy into trying to make the unworkable workable. Move on. Something better will turn up. Also build rock-solid procedures. The right procedures will make your business run more efficiently. A good system will allow for increased workload and reduce the amount of effort you need to spend on repetitive activities. Having procedures reduces the chance of errors, and increases your ability to think beyond the routine. Think of the differences between a business with procedures and one without.

{New Years Business resolution tip #8}   Ask a client for a referral. It seems simple, yet many business owners never consider asking their existing clients for contacts with others who may need your services. It can seem to be a hurdle to ask the first few times, but it doesn't need to be. It's amazing how simple it is to ask for a referral. The best part is that word of mouth doesn't need to cost any more than a thank you card. With social media asking for referrals has become simple yet many are finding it tiresome as it seems to be ALL businesses doing it Connecting and networking has become more about tagging and spamming Facebook walls. Try to find other methods of asking for referrals like sending out an email or newsletter to your contact database to being new clients in. Rewarding existing clients who do send you new clients (by either offing a small discount or perhaps a small gift to say thank you) can be an excellent resource and a great way to network.    

{New Years Business resolution tip #9} Join a new business organization or networking group. There is nothing like talking to other business people for sparking new ideas, refining old ones, and making contacts. Networking groups are becoming increasingly popular these days. Building a strong referral base is good business and a good way to do this is through networking groups. Whether it's a group specifically designed for networking or an organization dedicated to a particular type of business, in person or over the 'Net, making the effort to be a part of a group will revitalize you and your business.There are other advantages as well as these groups provide opportunities for social interaction and learning.

{New Years Business resolution tip #10} Celebrate Accomplishments, Recognize Opportunities. Savor and enjoy every step you take, no matter how small it seems. Give yourself a pat on the back or reward yourself in some way. When you reach a goal, it is certainly cause for celebration. Celebrating an achievement tends to anchor excitement & positive emotions while keeping you motivated and inspired to move forward. Success isn’t really success unless we enjoy it. An opportunity is a favorable set of circumstances that creates the need for a new product, service, or business idea. Observing trends, solving problems and finding gaps in the marketplace are how you identify an opportunity.

Also remember... Achieving a healthy work-life balance is like maintaining a good relationship; you have to keep working on it.

 

I have many more tips to add to this but its 1am January 1st 2011 and I think it's time I took note of #4 and have some me time (in the form of sleep time..lol) I hope you find these useful.