I don’t normally make New Year’s Resolutions on a personal basis, but I do try and do it for my business, as I find it makes me review my business for the coming year and decide what I need to do more effectively. Here are a few general pointers…

• Get a new diary or journal for your various projects, so you can keep your meetings, training sessions and appointments up to date and also have a place to write down your ideas. Keep it with you at all times in case you get inspiration when you are out.
• Learn something new…choose something you enjoy or are interested in to learn in 2018. It might be related to your business, or something that you can do in your downtime. It’s important to do both to ensure you have a good work-life balance.
• Do you have a media kit? If not, you might like to think about having one so you have all your promotional materials to hand.
• Rearrange your work space so that it’s a pleasant environment to work in and if you like to work with music, pull together a playlist of songs that you will enjoy working to.

Now onto the more business and practical side of running your business…

• Manage your cash flow more effectively…try and build up some capital to invest back into your business and have a little in reserve for emergencies.
• How often do you look at your digital presence? If you have a website, make sure that it is mobile-friendly and take some time to review and update your website content. Do you have an email marketing list? If you don’t, now is the time to think about creating one. If digital isn’t something you’ve done yet, it will be worth adding this to your resolution list.
• Does your brand still say what you want it to about your business? If not, it might be worth you looking at rebranding.
• Charge what you are worth – this is much easier said than done – I think we’re all guilty of underselling ourselves. Have a look at what other businesses charge who do the same as you and make sure you are on a par with them.
• What about social media? All small businesses can benefit from social media…have a look at other similar businesses to yours – what do they use? Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter? Research what is best for you and go for it.
• Do you have a business blog? This is something that can really help push your business and what you do…definitely something to think about. A blog can serve two purposes…one, to help set you up as an expert in your field and two, to show your human side, who you are and help your audience get to know you.

These are just a few ideas and I’m sure you can think of many more. The next step is to put your resolutions into action…transform them into goals for your business and put them into your business plan for 2018. Then you have a record of what you want to do and can you can work on how to achieve each one.

Finally, I’d like to wish you all a very Happy New Year and I hope you achieve all you wish for in 2018.