As the holidays start winding down, life and business is getting back to ?normal?, many people are making personal New Year's resolutions (i.e. loose weight, be more organized, etc) which are very common this time of year. In business, making resolutions is more like goal setting or developing your action plan for the year. Before you can make reachable business resolutions it is a good idea to evaluate the past year of your business. Take the time to reflect on the past year and see where you can focus your efforts in the 2007.



Ask yourself the following questions. Take your time and be thorough with your answers.

1) Did your business meet or exceed its sales goal for 2006? (Or did you increase your sales over 2005?) If so, what were the key factors that helped you reach this goal? If not, what do you think the key factors are that prevented you from reaching your goal? Can these things be fixed?

2) In what ways did you market your business this year? How effective were they? Have you been consistently promoting your services?

Stick with the methods that worked well, and consider new ways to promote your company. There are many ways to promote your company without breaking the bank. Be sure your company web site is up-to-date and user friendly. Write and submit articles and press releases to be posted on the Internet for free exposure. Always ask for referrals from your best clients. Join local business organizations and participate networking events. Plan a direct mail campaign using postcards to increase you name recognition in your target market.

3) What do you think you can do differently in 2007 to increase your sales and customer base?

It is sometime hard to see the big picture without help. If you don't already have a mentor, find one! A mentor can help you see things differently and offer you suggestions. You can find a mentor and free business counseling through SCORE (SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business" is America's premier source of free and confidential small business advice for entrepreneurs).

4) Write down your typical daily and weekly activities (be detailed as possible) and how much time do you spend on each. What tasks do you spend the most time on? Are those tasks money making tasks or mundane non-billable tasks? If you spend too much time on non-billable tasks, do you have someone to delegate those tasks to free up your time?

Being able to do the things you do best, while someone else takes care of the rest makes you a very smart business owner. Consider delegating your mundane non-billable tasks a Virtual Assistant (VA). What can a VA do? Just about any administrative task that an in house employee could do, except make your coffee! Communication is done through email, fax, telephone, IM, synchronization software, and other modern communication methods. Your VA can help to analyze what tasks to delegate. Partnering with a VA allows you to be more productive, and as a result can help you increase your company's bottom line.

5) Do you take time for yourself and your family this year? When was the last time you took a vacation?

Plan time for you and your family to spend time together a way from the business. Mary Kay Ash, founder of the Mary Kay Cosmetics and one of the most successful female entrepreneurs of all time, always stressed, ?Put God first, Family second and Career third?. Setting priorities. Taking time for yourself will help rejuvenate you and bring new energy to your business and your personal life.

Now that you have reflected on the past year, write down your plan for 2007. Make list of your goals and your plan to reach them. Be sure to delegate those non-billable tasks. And add time for yourself. Summarize your goals on a ?to-do? list. Review your list regularly to be sure you're staying on track. Share your goals with your mentor so he/she can help keep you stay focused and have a great year!