1.  Get a Better Education
Don’t neglect the need for you and your staff to stay current on what’s going on in our rapidly changing business world.  Membership in your local chamber of commerce or other organization can often open the door for free or low cost presentations, seminars or even classes.  Active membership in these organizations can often have other benefits to small businesses as well as being a great networking tool.
2.  Get a Better Job
As a business owner you do whatever needs to be done, but I imagine if you made a list of your responsibilities there are at least a few that you really don’t like or don’t feel comfortable performing.  Make 2013 the year to rewrite your job description, to make more time to do the things that drove you toward owning your own business.  Take the other responsibilities and either reassign to other employees or outsource to a professional in that area.
3.  Lose Weight
Space is expensive, whether it is physical office space, server space or cloud space.  Do your business a favor by losing the weight of all those boxes and servers by adopting a retention plan and implementing it with the New Year.  By knowing exactly what you want to keep, the pile of exceptions should be a manageable one that you actually have to look at and evaluate.  Breaking down the project and enlisting “all hands on deck” can really help you see progress.
4.  Reduce Debt
As it gets harder to refinance or get credit, it becomes more important to pay attention to the numbers that banks look at to evaluate your business.  If you don’t know how you stack up, consult with your CPA or business banker to benchmark your current position.  If you know that to grow your business and stay with your plan you will need financing, put a plan together to reduce debt and get your business back on track.  By planning now for financing you need in a year you will have a much better chance for success.
5.  Manage Stress
As a business owner, you often feel the weight of the world on your shoulders.  Over time that stress can diminish not only your effectiveness but your company’s performance as well.  Take time for things that are important to you (other than work!) in order to perform at your peak.   Reflect on the causes of stress at work.  You may need some outside help or an additional staff member to alleviate consistent issues or areas of concern.
6.  Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Most people vow each year to be better stewards of their resources, but end up wasting as much time, money and products as they did the year before.  Make 2013 the year you reduce the amount of time you waste on “work arounds”, the amount of money you waste on disposable items and the amount of items you throw out instead of repurposing.
7.  Save Money
Review your vendor list and your check register for the last 12 months.  If you are spending a little money in a lot of places, look for ways to consolidate and negotiate better pricing.  If you use 1 or 2 vendors exclusively for goods or services, make sure you are getting the best price possible.   Utilize customer loyalty and other such programs to help shave costs.
8.  Take a Trip
Take a trip around your city/neighborhood/area of customer concentration at least once a quarter to stay current on changes in and around your customers’ neighborhoods and businesses and pay a visit, if appropriate.  Staying in touch with customers directly helps you help them.
9.  Get Fit
Over time a company’s processes and procedures can get flabby as they sit around year after year.  Take some time to review and streamline procedures you do have in place and document procedures for areas that take a lot of time out of your day – but really shouldn’t.  With all the time saved and interruptions minimized, take a nice long walk at lunch!
10. Volunteer/Help Others
While this may seem to be focused on the individual, a company (or group of employees) who volunteer together can improve a company in many ways.  The shared experience builds teamwork and appreciation of skills (or efforts!) not often displayed in the normal work day.  The satisfaction of helping others will help everyone be more fulfilled as individuals and make for better employees.  Finally, the relationships and reputation that come from being involved in these kinds of activities can help your business grow and prosper as well as your community.
Written by Lynn Greggs, Controllership Specialist at Simons Bitzer & Associates