Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions for Entrepreneurs

After a long wait, the New Year has finally arrived. As is the culture of most Nigerians, New Year begins with a cross over service in church, then fireworks and finally partying. After the buzz is over, we now focus on more serious things like a New Year’s Resolution. If your goal this year is to achieve success in your business and also enjoy the success, then this write up will benefit you a great lot. These top 10 New Year’s resolutions are designed to help you strike a better work-life balance, so you can achieve a truly satisfying success in the New Year. Read on

1)      Set your business on digital automation: If you need to save money and time this year and yet achieve more success, then look for a way to utilize technology to build a system that runs itself with less of your time and money. The first step of course would be to get a professionally designed website, optimized for search engines with an appropriate call to action. Instead of people calling to ask questions about your business, set up a blog that answers your customers frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). Use call to actions, like BUY NOW to close a deal, and an auto-responder mail that confirms their order/payment. There is a lot you can do to automate your business or you can hire professionals in digital media to study your business and come up with advanced technological tools to simplify your process.

2)      Launch or accelerate your online presence: Make a resolution this year to leverage on the opportunities provided by the internet to blow your business. Whether you own a quaint retail shop with ten employees, or you work as an independent contractor for various clients, you need to have an online presence.Start by creating a website then a social media profiles for your business if you haven’t already. Join the social networks where your customers are, and make it easy for them to find you. Spread your efforts around to determine which platform (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Plus, Pinterest, etc.) is going to gauge the most interest with your clientele.

For instance, if you are a freelancer, you may want to set up a LinkedIn profile to network with other entrepreneurs. Alternatively, if you own a bakery, a Pinterest account could be the perfect platform for you to share recipes and new products.The truth is that the focus of most Nigerians is gradually going online and companies are allocating more and more funds for marketing with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. If you’re not active in the space, you’re missing out on opportunities your competition is probably taking advantage of. see Nine reasons every Nigerian business should have a social media presence. You can either send your staff to take e-marketing courses with an online marketing training company in Nigeria or outsource the service to professionals that will set your business rolling on the tracts

3)      Learn how to delegate and do more of it: 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. Then we wonder why we’re so tired and frazzled and have no time to do anything else! Determine Your Personal Return on Investment, and decide to let someone else do some of the tasks for a change. Delegation is the key to a healthy work-life balance.

4)      Make business planning a weekly event: Planning is vital if you want a healthy, growing business. Business planning lets you take stock of what worked and what didn’t work, and helps you set new directions or adjust old goals. So why do it just once a year or once a quarter? Set aside time each week to review, adjust, and look forward – or even better, make business planning a part of each day. Not only will this help you avoid costly mistakes and stay on track, but you’ll feel more focused and relaxed.

5)      Better understand your customers: To attract new customers, and entice them to purchase again, you should try to better understand who they are and what matters to them. This means communicating with and researching your audience. Ask customers to take surveys and offer feedback on your business. Customer analysis and input can not only lead to repeat business, but insight into how to improve your current product or business model.

6)       Join a new business organization or networking group: There’s nothing like talking to other business people for sparking new ideas, refining old ones, and making contacts. 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.

7)      Give something back to your community: There are all kinds of worthy organizations that make a difference in your community. Make a New Year’s resolution to find a cause that matters to you, and give what you can. Make this the year that you serve on a committee, be a mentor, volunteer, or make regular donations to the groups in your community that try to make the place you live a better place. And those that give get.

8)      Find a work-life balance: In Schedule Time for You, I point out how important it is to 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. So if you have trouble freeing up time to do the things you enjoy, write time regularly into your schedule to “meet with yourself” and stick to that commitment. If you won’t invest in yourself, who will?

9)      Set realistic goals: Goal setting is a valuable habit – if the goals lead to success rather than distress. Make a New Year’s resolution that the goals you set will be goals that are achievable, rather than unrealistic pipe dreams that are so far out of reach they only lead to frustration

10)   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.

Achieving a healthy work-life balance is like maintaining a good relationship; you have to keep working on it. Don’t overlook your health while making your wealth. But if you apply these New Year’s resolutions throughout the year, your success and that of your business is guaranteed! Also see the article on 15 Secrets of keeping your new year resolution
Make 2015 Count
A new year is exciting for everyone, especially new business owners who are continually refining their goals and scaling their enterprise upward. Take this time to plan out 2015 and make it count by focusing on areas you want to improve and learning from past mistakes. As long as you are moving forward, you are heading in the right direction.

How do you plan to grow your business in the New Year?