12 obtainable 2024 New Year's resolutions for the small business owner.

The turn of the calendar from 2023 to 2024 has given you a perfect opportunity to take stock of how your small business has fared over the past 12 months. What’s more, it’s the ultimate time to set some achievable goals that can take your store to the next level.

1. Commit to a sensible work-life balance (and avoid going to the office every weekend).

The phenomenon of burn-out is real, and it should be something you seek to actively avoid as a business owner. That’s because devoting all of your time and energy to your job slowly but surely drains your inner resources. In addition, it alienates you from the friends and family who want to support you and who also need your attention.

Deciding to create a balanced life means actively scheduling your downtime with as much determination as you regiment your workday. Think about what helps you to relax — it could be getting a massage, sitting down with a good book, playing with your kids, working out, or any number of other activities. Then, be as committed to including them in your life as you are to doing your bookkeeping or sending out those invoices. Your family, your customers, and, most importantly you, will be glad you did.

2. Take advantage of automated processes that can eliminate busy work.

When you run a business, there are certain tasks that absolutely require the human touch. Handling challenging customers, chasing down particularly delinquent payments, and providing quality supervision to your staff are just a few of many examples.

That being said, many duties, especially repetitive ones, can now be done via technology. Your point of sale (POS) system can track merchandise at every step of its journey from your warehouse into your customers’ hands. It can also be configured to send out payment reminder and confirmation emails, alert buyers to upcoming promotions, and let you know when your stock is running low in plenty of time to reorder it. The system can also generate reports that provide accurate snapshots in real time about employee performance, sales trends, customer buying histories, profits and losses, and much more. The icing on the cake is that using automated processes saves you tons of time while simultaneously cutting back on human errors that come during data entry.

3. Build new connections with organizations and other businesses in your industry.

Times may have changed as technology continues to be on the upswing, but networking will never go out of style. These days, advances in social media and the internet as a whole just serve to make it easier than ever to cultivate and maintain mutually beneficial relationships with other business owners in your industry.

The advantages of partnership are numerous. You can give and receive advice and can piggyback off of each other’s success. Local chambers of commerce have known this for years. Even if you don’t have time to attend monthly meetings in your community, the internet now furnishes you with other ways to connect.

In addition to posting social media content and reacting to that of your colleagues, the digital world is brimming with blogs and newsletters that you can read and contribute to, all the while dialoguing with their authors. You might even choose to share their links on your various media channels as well as allowing them to do the same. The result can be a wider customer base, greater knowledge, and an enhanced network of contacts that will help everyone concerned.

4. Start accepting more payment types whether you’re operating in a physical store, online, or through a mobile app.

It’s all about choice for today’s busy, convenience-oriented customers. They truly appreciate it when you go the extra mile to furnish them with a variety of payment choices.

Depending on a region’s culture and customs, preferences as to when and how to pay can vary widely. In addition to standard credit and debit cards, be sure to also let people pay with e-checks/wire transfers, and digital wallets like PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. 

5. Use professional payment software to view deposits, manage chargebacks, and pull real-time reports.

Incorporating payments software into your business infrastructure can make a crucial difference in your efficiency and accuracy. Since information is drawn in from your POS without the need for human data entry, instances of errors are markedly reduced. Furthermore, you can access the program from anywhere, enabling you to quickly gather a precise snapshot any time day or night.

One of the best features of this software is its chargeback management tools. When a customer disputes one of your charges and requests a refund from their bank, you pay the price in terms of time in fighting the refund as well as dealing with the financial consequences. Anything you can do to prevent the chargeback in the first place can be extremely helpful. Your software can automate the process of responding to chargebacks that have already happened as well as analyzing trends to help you stop them before they occur.

6. Launch a loyalty program that offers reward points for each purchase to keep customers coming back.

Customers are bombarded with a barrage of choices, promotions, and marketing tactics. Setting up and maintaining a loyalty program is one of your best defenses against your hungry rivals.

That’s because buyers like rewards and free stuff. Each time they make a purchase, set your POS to record it and add it into their loyalty account. What small amount you might lose in providing discounts or no-cost products will be compensated for many times over when you retain those invaluable customers.

7. Keep an eye on reviews about your brand with a reputation management tool.

The internet can seem like the wild west even now, decades after its invention. Without some automated help, there is no way you can keep track of what is being said about you and your business online.

But once you incorporate a reputation management tool into your arsenal, that all changes. This software is adept at searching the web for reviews, comments, and video content specifically referring to your business. Knowing what is being said is the first step toward taking action to set the record straight. By the way, your software can help with that as well.

8. Set boundaries and get used to saying “no.”

The fact is that you may not be able to stop people from demanding your attention, but you can change how you respond.

If you do most of your work from home and the majority of intrusions come from family, lay down the law. When your office door is closed, people should only enter in the event of life-or-death emergencies. At the office, consider hiring a gatekeeper who triages concerns, or ask staff to put their questions or problems in writing.

9. Get ultra-comfortable with delegating tasks, even if you think you could do it better yourself.

This plays into the work-life balance issue we discussed earlier. Delegation is not a sign of weakness; it is an absolute must if you are to retain your sanity in the long run.

Put your mind at ease by thinking long and hard about who is the best person to entrust with a particular task. Then meet with them, explain all aspects, and let them know that this is a vital part of the business. By doing so, you will lighten your own load while simultaneously contributing to your staff person's professional growth.

10. Maximize your employee management by using tools to track time and sales.

Business automation software isn’t just for inventory and customer relationship management. It’s also indispensable when it comes to working with staff.

Because your software integrates all business functions, it can show you illuminating statistics about each employee: hours worked, productivity statistics, absences, late arrivals, etc. Armed with these details, you can provide feedback that inspires improvement as well as create performance documentation should you need to make the decision to terminate someone’s job.

11. Commit to improving and increasing your social media presence.

Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram are not fads that will disappear. If you want to connect with today’s buyers of all ages, you need to make yourself known on the platforms your customers visit, often several times each day.

Make it a point to create text and video content that attracts and delights the people you want to serve. Equally important, engage visitors in conversations, entice them with polls and contests, and encourage them to like your page and share it with friends. If this involves discounts or prizes, so much the better. Trust us, they will be worth the cost.

12. Start stepping back every quarter to consider why you do what you do. If you’re not happy, change it.

New Year’s resolutions like these are great, but you shouldn’t wait until December to perform an inventory of the health of your business. Once every three months is a lot better.

A quarterly examination forces you to dig deep into what is working and what is not, enabling you to celebrate successes and spot problems before they have a chance to become magnified. When you see something you like, take the time to enjoy it and to validate the people who have made it possible. If something is failing to perform as you would have liked, nip the situation in the bud right now, and make proactive changes.

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