Happy New Year

Wishing everyone a Happy and Prosperous New Year.   I can hardly believe it is 2012.  Last year felt like it simply flew right by.  At the beginning of the year it is time to set your goals for growth in 2012.  Often times when we look at doing New Year’s Resolutions we tend to write them for the whole year.  To help you achieve your goals I suggest is that one makes monthly resolutions (goals) in addition to whole years goals.

One of the problems with New Year’s Resolutions is that sometimes we are not always realistic when we set them.  Unfortunately when we set unrealistic goals we set ourselves up for failure that is why monthly goals are more practical, have a better chance of being achieved and if you miss the mark can evaluate and make improvements the following months.

It is also a good idea at the beginning of the year,  prior to setting your goals that you take time to sit down with your staff and evaluate your businesses success and disappointments during the past year.  This helps give the business professional an opportunity to see what was realistic and what was a fantasy.  Remember to give yourself a pat on the back for your successes and to recognize that when you fail at something that it is an opportunity to get more information and set a more realistic goal in that area.

Some questions you might ask yourself when doing an evaluation of your business i.e.

• ·         How many new customers did you get?
• ·         Was your marketing successful?  What could you have done better?
• ·         Did you have cash on hand to weather the slow periods?
• ·         Are you poised for new growth in 2012? 

Out of the above questions you can see whether or not you were satisfied with the results.  If you were not satisfied the next question would be. “Why not?”  It is the why not that will help you write your goals for the year.

Increasing sales is always a good goal.  It is helpful when setting goals to make sure they are measurable and breaking them down into daily, weekly or monthly goals is a way to help achieve the goals that you have set.

Another goal might be to add new products or services.  Even the smallest companies need to grow and change.   A question to ask yourself is, “which products or services are compatible with your business?”

Every company should evaluate its costs of doing business.  The end of the year is a great time to review your company’s financials therefore giving you the opportunity to see where you might increase costs or reduce costs for the company year.  A New Year is a natural time to re-evaluate your business and your entrepreneurial activities.

Two of the goals I have for my Chamber participation is to write more often in the blog and call all the members and introduce myself.  The monthly goal will be one blog entry a month and to call on 12 members. 

Happy New Year and Happy Goal Setting.

Respectfully submitted by:  Elaine B. Holtz     NortonHoltz Business Solutions

Elaine is also the Producer/Host of Women's Spaces www.womensspaces.com