Small Business Owners: What’s Your 2023 New Year’s Resolution?

When most people think of a New Year’s resolution, things like exercise, eating healthy or spending more time with friends and family often come to mind. While these are all examples of great personal resolutions, what about resolutions for your business?

When you come up with a resolution, whether personal or business related, you are committing to change. Now is the perfect time to look at your business and identify areas that you can improve on—and make a plan to help you make improvements.

Here are 7 New Year’s resolutions that you might want to consider implementing yourself, designed to help grow your business.

1. I Will Take My Professional Networking to the Next Level

Setting aside time to devote to networking is something that every business owner should do, but time constraints and work-loads can make this difficult. And with the majority of these events now online, it takes even more effort to find events and industry conferences that can still provide excellent networking opportunities from behind the screen. Here are some options to consider:

• Meetup.com: With events (known as meetups) for just about every topic under the sun, you can leverage the Meetup.com platform to find online opportunities for a variety of groups (whether that’s potential customers, like-minded business owners, or top talent in your industry).
• LinkedIn: LinkedIn has a huge variety of private groups that cater to a variety of industries, holders of professional designations (i.e., CPAs or JDs), and types of business leaders. It’s also the world’s biggest network of professionals—so if you’re looking to bring on a new team member, consider LinkedIn your go-to resource.
• Facebook Groups: Even though Facebook isn’t a professional website—but there are tons of professional connection opportunities through Facebook Groups. A quick search can help you find a variety of industry-specific groups or groups around more general business topics (like entrepreneurship or remote work).
• Quora: Quora can be a great way to get your name out there and establish yourself as a subject-matter expert. This question-and-answer site has questions on virtually every topic. And by finding the questions you (and your business) are qualified to answer, you can increase your visibility with potential customers or clients.
• Your business’ social media platforms: Social media is a great way to network—and if you already have an audience, it’s probably full of potential connections that could help take your business to the next level.

Personally, I am committed to networking on a weekly basis, focusing on online groups in my local area. If you are a tech-focused entrepreneur in the Miami area, specifically Brickell, then connect with me on Instagram.

2. I Will Take Advantage of the Strengths of All My Team Members

You are only as good as the team around you. This applies to every organization, from professional sports teams to businesses of all sizes. A team that isn’t all operating on the same page can spell disaster for your business. When you do assemble the dream team, it’s important to use each team member to his or her full potential.

“We want to utilize the strengths of each team member to their full potential. Over the past five years, we grew from my partner and me to a team of 24, located all over the world. We anticipate even more growth in the coming year.

Teams only work when you trust every member to make the correct decisions. We have processes in place to guide them, which helps tremendously. Additionally, we want to make sure we use their skills and abilities correctly—this comes from experience and testing what works best,” advises Ivan Vislavkiy, CEO of Comrade Web Agency.

If your team is all located on-site, you might also consider holding weekly team-building events to keep the bond strong. If you run a remote organization, weekly video conference calls are a great way to keep the team unity thriving.

3. I Will Use Software, Tools and Apps to Make My Business More Efficient

The technology available to entrepreneurs and small business owners today allow you to completely streamline processes that used to require full-time employees and countless hours.

Now, there are apps and software to make life much easier through automation and
integrations.

Take FreshBooks for example, and its multiple features, integrations and add-ons—invoicing, payment processing, expense tracking, time tracking, financial reporting, etc.

These are all designed to make your business more efficient, allowing you and your team to spend the majority of your time on things that result in business growth.

I have found networking to be the best source of new app and software discovers. When you are networking with other business owners in the same industry as you, initiate conversations about productivity and efficiency, and see what others are using. You will often go home with a few new apps to download and software to try out.

4. I Will Charge What I’m Worth

This is my main business-related resolution for the new year. When a founded my marketing agency, we were a service provider. Over the years we cut back on our offerings and focused on larger brands. Now, my agency is strictly a consulting agency, working with the in-house marketing teams at large brands.

I have the knowledge and hands-on experience requires to help large brands succeed in the digital world, which has caused a high-demand for my service. My consulting retainers are far from the most affordable option. However, I know my worth and my monthly retainer fee is now priced accordingly.

“If you feel that your service or product is undervalued you should consider raising your prices to match the value they provide. Many business owners are afraid that increasing prices will make them unaffordable for some. But you must understand that you can’t be a fit for everyone. It’s better to be the right fit to those who understand the value of your product or service and are willing to pay you for it,” says Michael Washburn, President of High Purity Northwest Inc.

5. I Will Learn a New Skill

As an entrepreneur and business owner, you can never absorb enough new knowledge and information. It’s important to always be seeking out new information and self-education, in order to grow as a person and leader. It can also have a positive impact on your life outside of work.

“Choose something new to learn, whether it’s directly related to your business or completely unrelated, will help you tremendously. Learning a new skill adds a dimension of interest to your life that helps to maintain the desired work-life balance. It also helps you to get out of your comfort zone and meet new people. Something as simple as taking a marketing class or learning a new language are prime examples,” says Susan Johnson, CEO of Any Credit Personal Loans.

I’m launching a daily vlog in the coming year, so I will be teaching myself how to edit video and also how to properly film. It’s a complete do-it-myself project, and I am looking forward to learning along the way, in hopes of improving the quality of my daily vlog episodes over time.

6. I Will Consistently Promote My Business

There are several marketing strategies available that work to constantly promote your business—search engine optimization, social media, pay-per-click, content and email are just a few examples. You also have the opportunity to introduce your business to people you encounter on a daily basis.

“You have to run campaigns across the standard marketing channels, but you shouldn’t forget to always have promoting your business on your mind to those that you encounter each and every day. Every person you come in contact with is either a potential customer or a potential referral partner. Take the time to introduce your business to those you have casual conversations with daily. It’s a simple, yet effective strategy,” suggests Peter Lipscomb, CEO of Business Line of Credit Hub.

Specific networking events are great, but we come in contact with new people every day. A quick conversation can quickly open up the door to introduce your business to a potential customer.

7. I Will Expand My Scope of Practice to Cater to a Social Cause

“Our top resolution is to expand our scope of practice within the impact sector. The impact sector is essentially a group of industries that have a deep and profound impact on the world around us. It’s typically composed of businesses who operate in and around health care, education, food and agriculture, environmentalism and safety.

They ultimately provide services or products that enhance the ‘human experience,’ benefiting the world and those who live in it. We pride ourselves in working with an organization who shares our interest and devotion to improving the world,” explains Dan Sandler, Director of Client Partnership at DevMynd.

A lot of small businesses can greatly benefit from becoming more involved with large-scale social causes, as well as local community involvement. Making a difference not only gives you a degree of satisfaction while impacting lives in a positive manner, but it can also attract new business. Consumers love to support businesses that stand for a good cause.

Let’s Make 2023 the Best Year Yet!

Every new year is an opportunity for improvement—both personal and business-related. Consider implementing some of the resolutions above yourself. And make 2023 the most successful year to date for your business.