That was the Year that was-time to reflect

Running your own business is not the easy option. Many people think it is. People think they will get the freedom to make their own decisions, they are not answerable to anyone and they will make lots of money quickly. The harsh reality is very different. It takes a lot of hours to structure a business,market a business and get things moving with sales and collecting payments from customers. To begin with many small business owners are every single department. So time to reflect on the past 12 months as another year passes. Have things panned out the way you thought it would? Did you have a plan at the beginning of the year? What have you achieved against that plan? If you didn't have a plan, how about working on one for 2012. Are you still trying to do everything with your business? What can you delegate? Most SME's do their own book keeping, admin and marketing. These could be outsourced giving you more time to develop new customers and look after existing ones. Did you struggle to get regular payments from customers and on time?Lack of cash flow can easily kill a small business.

The important thing when reviewing any year is to think hard about what can be improved for the next year, what have you learnt from previous experiences. Have some goals in mind for 2012. Break this down into monthly and quarterly targets. Are you harnessing everything you can to increase the sales in your company. Think about the methods you use, are they effective enough. What are your competitors doing? Review their prices, their marketing and their products. What added value can you offer? Never be heavily reliant on one customer. Consider how you can collaborate with other companies in the same industry as you.

So when you think about the year that was think about the new year, new ideas and new plans.