New Year’s Resolutions for Small Business Owners

The start of the new year is a good opportunity for small business owners to reflect on their business’s success, decide what works, and find things to improve upon. We’ve put together 5 new year’s resolutions that every small business owner can benefit from this new year.

1. Promote Your Business in New Ways

This new year, dedicate more time and effort into promoting your business. This could be in any number of ways. For example, you could dedicate 30 minutes every day to learning more about a certain channel (such as PPC ads, or any other channel). Also consider investing more time and effort into content marketing, and write one blog post every one or two weeks. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to get started in content marketing.

There are many ways to promote your business. For this new year, take the time to focus on one or two ways you might not have explored yet, and watch your business grow before your eyes.

2. Become a Better Communicator

Consistent communication with employees is one of the essential keys to successful offices, but it’s also one of the hardest parts to get right. Communicating consistently helps ensure that each employee is in the loop in regards to current and future goals, as well as what has already been accomplished. 

We recommend testing and learning which method of communication works best for your team, and adapting to their preferences. Additionally, check out these tips on engaging remote employees. 

3. Improve Your Work-Life Balance

How should you organize your day? There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to creating a strong work-life balance. You have to find what works for you, and stay committed to it. If you’re a morning person, start working earlier so you can finish earlier. If you’re a person who’s more productive in the later hours, set aside some time in the evenings to work. Reward your hard work with scheduled breaks throughout the day to stay motivated. Work-life balance is crucial, so set a relatively strict schedule of working (and non-working) hours.

4. Get Better at Networking

As working from home is becoming more common, networking is becoming more difficult. There simply aren’t as many opportunities to shake hands and connect with other people in a “real world” setting. But that doesn’t mean that networking is less important. If anything, the lack of in-person interactions makes the moments where we do connect with others even more essential. With fewer chances to make impressions, it’s vital to have the impressions that you do make stand out. 

Luckily, online networking has continued to evolve. There are plenty of platforms to connect with others on a professional level. So if you can’t attend networking events in person this year, join some Twitter Chats and find some virtual events to help grow your professional network. 

Check out our previous post on how to network from home!

5. Learn to Say “No”

Saying “no” feels counterintuitive for lots of small business owners. You might wonder, “How will I make money without taking on every job possible?” But spreading yourself too thin often lowers the quality of your work, leaves clients frustrated, and hurts your mental health.

Additionally, learn to say “no” to yourself when something isn’t working. Continuing to force products that don’t sell well, or staying with the same marketing or sales strategies that don’t work is detrimental to your business and wastes your time. This year, learn to say “no” and move on from things that aren’t working, and don’t be afraid to try something new.

A new year is an exciting time to start fresh and grow towards new goals for your business. To learn more about setting goals for your small business, check out this post.