How to Set New Year’s Resolutions for Business Success

​It’s that time of year again. We’ve taken stock of the past year, sent it off with a glass of champagne (or your beverage of choice), and now it’s time to look forward to the year ahead and think about what you want this year to look like. What do you want to see when you look back this time next year?

​A lot of people focus on personal development when setting their new year’s resolutions, but many of us also have big goals for our businesses. I want you to have your best year yet for your business, so here are some tips you can use for setting new year’s resolutions for business success in 2022.

​Set Realistic New Year’s Resolutions for Business Success

​One of the most important tips for goal setting is to make sure the goals you’re setting for yourself are goals you can actually achieve. There’s something to be said for shooting for the moon, but if you don’t have the skills or the equipment to get there, you could be setting yourself up for failure, and no one likes to feel like they’ve failed. Failure to achieve a goal can actually make you less likely to set and achieve goals in the future, so this is not about treating yourself with kid gloves. It’s about setting new year’s resolutions for business that set you up for success.

​Many business owners want to be making six figures, or even seven figures, but if you’re just starting out, that might not be realistic for you, at least not for 2022. By all means, keep those big goals for your 5-year plan and your 10-year plan, but for this year, start by taking stock of where you are now and what it will take to get you where you want to go. How much of that can you realistically accomplish in one year?

You want to make sure it’s a little bit of a stretch for you, because we want to get you outside your comfort zone, but we don’t want you biting off more than you can chew. It’s a fine line to balance on, and it’s OK if you veer from that line a bit. Just don’t go too far off course.

​Delegate

​A common mistake I see small business owners making, especially when they’re just starting out, is thinking they have to do everything themselves. Not only is that a recipe for burnout, but you can end up wasting a lot of time and effort trying to do things that are not your strong suit. You’d be much better off hiring a professional to take care of that task for you while you focus on doing the things in your business only you can do.

​If you’re just starting out and you don’t have a budget to hire someone else, get creative. Find someone who’s willing to barter. Offer an internship to a college student, or even a high school student who would be willing to work in exchange for class credit.

​If you have kids of your own who are old enough to type, put them to work. You already know which skills are their strongest, so find out where they can help you in your business when it comes to tasks that, either you’re not so great at, or you can do, but it’s not the best use of your time. It can be a great learning experience for your kids, and even a bonding experience for both of you.

Make a New Year’s Resolution for Business Promotion Regularly and Consistently

​Remember what I said earlier about making sure you set realistic new year’s resolutions for business success? Where a lot of people go wrong when it comes to promoting their business is they lack consistency, which matters more than frequency. You might be determined to make hundreds of sales calls every week, but is that a resolution you can realistically keep for the entire year?

​If it is, great! Go for it.

​But if you’re like a lot of small business owners, you’re committed to promoting your business when work is slow, and as soon as work picks up, promotion tends to fall by the wayside. Then business gets slow again because you haven’t been promoting your business.

​The key is to find a nice middle ground - something that will drive results, but that you also know you’ll be able to stick to when you only have a few minutes a day to pick up the phone or post on social media.

​It’s OK to hit the promotion a little harder when business slows down, but by setting a goal you can realistically keep all year long, you’ll be more likely to stick to it instead of giving up as soon as business picks up and you don’t hit your goal for a week or two.

​Make a New Year’s Resolution for Business Planning on a Consistent Basis

Another common mistake I see a lot of small business owners making is spending so much time in their business that they forget to work on their business. It might feel like you’re spending all your time serving your clients, making sales calls, attending networking events, etc., but if you’re not consistently taking time to work on your business, you’ll just end up spinning your wheels and struggling to get to the next level in your business.

When people talk about business planning, they often talk about sitting down and writing a business plan, which is a very time-consuming process. That’s not what I’m talking about here. Instead, just take a few minutes, maybe an hour each week to take stock of your business. What went well this past week? What could have gone better? In which areas would you like to improve for next week?

​No one expects you to set or achieve huge business goals for your business every week. But you should take some time every week to check in with the big goals you set at the beginning of the quarter or the year and make sure the things you’re doing in your business each week align with those goals. If they’re not, it’s time to adjust so you can intentionally go after those business goals, no matter how big they are.

​As a Strategy Rockstar, my favorite thing is helping small business owners set and achieve their biggest business goals. If you’re tired of spinning your wheels and ready to make 2022 your best year yet, schedule your FREE consultation to get started.