5 New Year’s Business Resolutions

Did you make New Year’s resolutions for yourself this year? I always do. But if you are only making resolutions about how to improve yourself, like losing weight or getting in shape, you’re missing out on a big opportunity. Now is the right time of year to make business resolutions that will improve your business in 2015.

Here are five New Year’s business resolutions that I think every business owner should consider.

1. Market more. Really, no business needs to market less—am I right? Marketing is how you get more customers to your company, keep your business in the public eye and make the customers you have want to keep doing business with you. There are lots of ways you can market your business for almost free, like using social media and email marketing to reach out to customers. If you don’t feel that marketing is your strong suit, you may want to hire a marketing consultant. Just a couple short consultations could be all you need to get your business on the right track for 2015.
2. Provide better customer service. I hope you are already giving great customer service, but just like with marketing, you can always do better. Think about ways you can improve your customer service in 2015. To start getting ideas, ask your customers what they think are the good and bad points of your customer service as it is now. You can do this by conducting an online or email survey or just by talking to some regular customers and asking them to be honest with you.
3. Make sure you have enough staff. A lot of small business owners have been getting by with a bare-bones staff since the recession hit several years ago. But now the economy is getting better, and if your sales are growing (or you expect them to grow in 2015) now could be a good time to hire. You can hire part-time employees if you’re worried that you don’t have enough work for a new full-time employee. You could also use independent contractors if that works for your business. Basically, the goal is to take some of the load off of your existing employees (and you!).
4. Use technology to save time. I’m amazed at how many tools there are to save small businesses time. You probably have a smartphone, but you might not be getting as much out of it as you could. Ask other businesspeople you know what apps they use on their phones to save time. Check out your phone’s marketplace of apps and see what’s out there for business. Apps that do things like scan your expense receipts or let you send invoices from your phone can really help you get more done.
5. Do a risk management assessment. While you’re taking all these steps to improve your business, make sure you don’t lose your business! Sometimes one disaster (like a fire in your building) or lawsuit from a customer is all it takes to destroy what you have built. Don’t let that happen to you. Make an appointment with your insurance agent to do a risk management assessment and make sure your business has the right insurance coverage to protect it.