New Year’s Resolutions For Professionals and Entrepreneurs

When we think of New Year’s resolutions, it is usually personal resolutions which spring to mind first. But setting New Year’s resolutions for your professional career makes perfect sense. The first of January marks the beginning of a new year with so many possibilities. Therefore, why not make some plans and prepare to succeed beyond all expectations? In last week’s blog post, we discussed making you a priority. But there are ways we can improve upon that and develop your professional career and your business at the same time. Here are a handful of ways you can alter the way you do business, both externally and internally.

Continuously Learning

A great starting point is continually trying to learn new skills or fine-tuning your methodology. There are so many excellent books published on business as well as a wide range of online courses and training produced. Either of these options will enable you to learn more and develop your skills whether directly or indirectly related to your current business.

“One of the secrets to staying young is to always do things you don’t know how to do, to keep learning.”

– Ruth Reichl

Regardless of what level you are in your career, it is always beneficial to step out of your comfort zone once in a while. Whether it is through learning, public speaking, networking or problem-solving, being able to try new things or come up with new solutions to age-old problems will ensure that your business (and indeed yourself) does not become stuck in its ways.

Customer Connection

Another great new year’s resolution you can set for yourself is to go back to basics and refamiliarise yourself with your customer base. Have things changed since you first went into business? Has your customer base altered in any way? Quite often when businesses grow, their customers grow alongside it.

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”

– Bill Gates

Make the extra effort to get to know your customers – the happy ones and the not so happy ones. Read the reviews and send out surveys; find out what their needs are and how far your efforts are actually going to service those needs.

Healthy Businesses

Businesses are making changes to the way they operate internally. Not only are they going green, but they are also setting fitness and health initiatives which are really paying back in dividends. If you want to see real change in your company culture for the better then having a fit and healthy workplace will reward your team, their productivity and your bottom line. For far too long offices have been known for their all-day pots of coffee and endless supply of doughnuts! However, it’s time to make a shift away from this and provide opportunities for employees to exercise together and eat healthily.

“Dispirited, unmotivated, unappreciated workers cannot compete in a highly competitive world.”

– Francis Hesselbein

Switch the unhealthy snacks to more nutritional goodies. While coffee may be a necessity, encourage tea and water as an alternative. Come up with initiatives to suit your business and invite everyone from the top to the bottom of the organisation to get involved. Healthy outings, walking groups, jogging groups – anything which will build on teamwork and inspire you and your employees to be the best. Corporate wellness programs have been found to have many profound benefits on employees including increased loyalty, reduced stress and higher employee retention.

What other ways might you consider making changes to your business for the better?