New year resolutions are promises or commitments we make to ourselves to change some of our personal or organizational habits or to do something different during the new year to ensure specific positive outcomes or to bring about certain radical changes in our lives or work patterns. For many business owners, making new year’s resolutions may be some annual ritual aimed at improving patterns of work and interaction. Furthermore, employees are culturally more open and receptive to accepting such promises and commitments and commencing the efforts to accomplish them at this time of the year.
In an SME, the habits of the entrepreneur or owner have a significant and direct impact on the business unit’s overall performance and financial results. Hence, the proprietor’s personal resolutions for the new year are as important as organizational resolutions. So, when considering the best new year resolutions for a small business, we must consider both types. On a personal level, the business owner’s resolutions can be like ‘will learn or acquire this new skill’ or ‘will learn to delegate better and put it into practice’ or ‘will practice cash flow more carefully and effectively.’
The lines are blurred between a small business owner’s personal new year resolutions and a business venture’s new year resolutions. Ideally, new year resolutions should always be made after examining the performance of the previous year or years and after prioritizing those habits that need immediate tending and will have the highest visible outcomes against accommodating the pain of change. Some common resolutions might be like: ‘consistently promoting and marketing the business,’ ‘doing business planning and review of top priorities every week,’ ‘actively reducing micromanagement,’ ‘creating realistic organizational goals,’ ‘doing monthly updates and modifications of the business plan’ and similar ones.
Increasing business volumes and pursuing sustainable growth may be the highest priorities for a small business owner. So, resolutions such as ‘identifying customer service issues,’ ‘refreshing the marketing plan,’ ‘expanding business network,’ ‘working on getting asset light,’ or ‘staying on top of trends’ might be important. Furthermore, resolutions that improve cash flows and finances help the business owner to become more efficient. These resolutions can be like ‘keep better track of expenses,’ ‘document all work and processes,’ ‘do better pricing of products and services,’ ‘will compare small business loans as also financial grants and government aid schemes for small businesses,’ and so on.
On a personal level, some resolutions that are good for small business owners to increase efficiency would be like, ‘join new business groups every month,’ ‘set aside some time to think every day,’ ‘look for automation opportunities to reduce repetitive tasks,’ ‘talk to actual customers for feedback,’ ‘do regular updates on team progress,’ ‘compliment an employee each day,’ and ‘understand why things make you feel anxious.’ Thus, the list of new year resolutions can be limitless, but to raise the efficiency of a small business owner, they will have to do a SWOT analysis both of the business and at a personal level, and then decide to implement those changes which are doable, and will fetch highest positive returns against efforts.
