New Year's Resolutions for Small Businesses [Video]
What do small business owners put down as their New Year’s Resolutions? I spent a few minutes Googling “new year’s resolutions for small business” and I was astonished by what came up.
I recently wrote a post on my personal blog suggesting that it is a good idea to look back and not just forwards. I think some kind of achievement list can sometimes be of greater value than a bucket list or a list of ambitious goals for life. It is a method of reflecting on what you have done and stoking the fires within, to spur you on to greater things.
I think this is absolutely vital in managing your own mental health and maintaining confidence in yourself. But it is also fair to say that from a business perspective we must never stop improving and taking our business forward, so at some point you will be looking to plan out, set some goals or resolutions for the coming year.
What might these be? I spent a few minutes Googling “new year’s resolutions for small business” and I was astonished by what came up. Broadly small business owners and entrepreneurs have very similar resolutions at New Year. No surprise there, but they all fall into a few categories based around sales, exposure, delegation and time management.
So here are some of the most popular results:
You can either read the blog post below or watch the video!
Resolutions relating to delegating
Learn to Delegate and do it more
Grow my team and delegate more
Consider Delegation
Learn to Delegate
This really surprised me. I know the importance of delegation and the difficulty of actually doing it but somehow I did not expect so many people to voice this. Delegating work is an amazing way (the only way?) to let go, learn more and grow your business.
Resolutions relating to social media and promotion
Promote your business on a regular basis
Give your business a social Presence
Engage with Social Media
Focus on Marketing & Social Media
Many people I speak to have some kind of social media angst. They either feel they are missing out by not being on it or they are not using every available channel. Neither of these is true but Social Media can unquestionably be hugely beneficial for your small business.
Develop a strategy and implement it on the right channels (not necessarily everywhere) and it can pay you back handsomely over time.
On the subject of promoting your business it is worth considering putting yourself forward for some business awards or trying to get some “free” PR for your company.
Resolutions relating to content
Take Steps to Improve Digital Presence
Produce quality blog content on a consistent schedule
Produce Video content / marketing
Alongside the use of social media there is a general recognition that producing quality “content” is a good way to bring in new customers.
A blog is an amazing way to talk to your customers and over the course of time making your website a valuable / interesting resource for people is a great and potentially low cost method of acquisition.
Resolutions relating to planning
Make Business Planning a Weekly Event
Plan out your day
Think ahead
Better Time Management
Spend more time on revenue generating activities
Get focused and more productive
Increase productivity
It’s January and everyone is feeling charged up and keen to up their productivity. No surprise here I guess and I think these are closely linked to the next set.
Resolutions relating to personal development
Make more time for yourself
Prioritize balance
Take a Vacation
Learn Something New
Read two business books a month
I am delighted to see these kinds of resolutions cropping up because they show a real awareness of the importance of personal growth in business. I am throwing this together with work / life balance because I think they often go hand in hand.
I am passionate about balancing life/work and it is one of the hardest aspects of running a small business or start-up. You do feel you need to be “on it” all the time and this can really affect your non-work life. “What non-work life?” I hear you ask. Well, exactly!
I think many people running small business feel guilty about stepping away from their work when many think they should be working harder.
Naturally running an outsourcing business means I have a vested interest in people looking to balance their time and preferably hand over tasks to one of our skilled virtual assistants, but in truth I do think we are at the beginning of a revolution in the way people work.
Free time and flexibility are a currency, the value of which will only increase. And the world is so small (apologies for the cliché) and work can be so easily shared, that this area of people’s lives can only improve.
Resolutions relating to your customers
Focus more on customers
Focus more on overlooked segments of customers
Get to know your customers better
Spend more time on revenue generating activities
I’ve spotted a theme here. Almost all these so far have been based upon time. How do I find more time for my social media? How do I find more time for my family? How do I find more time for my customers? How do I find more time for myself?
Well, I guess I refer you to the first resolution… learn to delegate and do it more.
What would you like to see yourself doing more of, in 2019? Tell us in the comments below.
Here are a few articles from which I sourced results:
All Business | The Balance Small Business | Business Apps | Outbound Engine | Business News Daily | 1 CRM | First Voice
Author: Thomas Smallwood is an outsourcing specialist. Having worked in companies around Europe, from the support desk to the boardroom, he founded bizee.co to help small businesses grow through efficient delegation to skilled virtual assistants. He is an award-winning blogger and a passionate advocate for mental health awareness.
Connect with Tom on LinkedIn.