The new year is rapidly approaching. Are you ready yet? Don’t panic. You still have time to plan your business goals for 2009. And planning doesn’t stop with the new year, either. Setting goals should continue throughout the year – as should evaluating your progress.

Did you accomplish what you wanted in 2008? Did you meet sales goals, get new customers and increase your income? If yes, congratulations! Plan to build on that progress next year. If no, it’s time to take a look at what didn’t work and find new ways to do things in the coming year.

Take some time to look at what worked and didn’t work over the past year. Did you keep up with your filing? Expense reporting? Customer retention goals? All of these things (and so much more) are important to your business success. What failed? Do you know why?

Use your experiences this year to improve on your goals for next year. And don’t forget to make those goals SMART so you can track your success. And review those goals at least once a quarter to make sure they’re still relevant to you and your business.

A new year is the perfect time to take stock of how you’re doing things, and make plans for your future success. No one else is going to plan it for you. What do you think is important for you to focus on next year?

Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas. Whether or not you celebrate the holiday, we hope you get some time to spend with those you love. Enjoy!

How long has it been since you looked at your address book? A week? A month? Not just quickly grabbing a phone number or email address, but really looking at it. It may be time to organize your contacts.

Are there people who have moved, switched companies, switched businesses, changed careers, or even just dropped out of your life? Did you remember to update their contact info?

A list of important phone numbers, email addresses, and other information is important to your business. But if it’s not organized and up-to-date, it really isn’t helping you. And just before the new year begins is a perfect time to update everything.

Delete items you no longer need or use. Are there companies you don’t do business with? Sales people who have moved on? Clear those entries from your address book. If you hate to get rid of someone, at least archive their entry out of your current list so it’s not cluttering things up.

Try to review your list once a quarter to keep it up-to-date and useful. Or more often if your contacts are constantly changing. If you keep your address book organized, you’ll find things quicker. Save yourself some time by updating now!

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My sincerest apologies for leaving you hanging like that. I’ve had some things get in the way. Not so great time management, eh?

We all fall off the wagon once in a while, right? It doesn’t mean you should quit. It means you need to re-evaluate and start over. Or start where you left off. Or try an entirely new tack.

I will try my best to get back to a regular posting schedule. If there’s something that’s been bothering you, or some topic you’d like to see me cover, please let me know.

I still have an office makeover to post soon, along with some other topics that I hope are helpful to you.