As the calendar flips to January and another new year begins, a new year brings hope and new possibilities. Now is the perfect time to reevaluate your business and establish goals for 2023.
With that in mind, here are my top 7 New Year’s Resolutions for Small Business Owners in 2023.
1. Build a Website
The fact of the matter is, if you’re running a business in the 21st century and trying to stay afloat mid-pandemic, you need an online presence. Even if you have endless tasks on your small business to-do list, prioritizing the presence of your own web content is critical.
2. Be Social
Engaging with audiences on social media is essential to getting your business seen, building your brand, and developing a loyal following. Plus, plugging into social platforms gives you new ways to connect and promote your website.
3. Crisis-Proof Your Online Presence
Even if you’re accustomed to running an in-person service business, the last two years have necessitated major pivots. But it’s not impossible! And likely, moving your in-person biz online can open up more opportunities for the growth of your business! Adapting offered services and incorporating virtual elements can help you continue to improve how you engage and reach out to new audiences.
4. Rank Higher Through SEO
Obviously, one of your main goals as a small business is to grow your business. That means you need to start attracting audiences — and online engagement is more important than ever. However, promoting your blog on social media and producing great content aren’t the only tactics you need to get found by your target audiences — you must also prime your site to rank highly on search engines.
5. Get Mobile-Friendly
Mobile matters. OK, so maybe we’re a broken record on this topic. But seriously, if you aren’t optimizing your site for use on mobile devices, you’re harming your business.
6. Build Your Brand
Inherent to branding is your business identity: getting seen — and becoming known — by your target audiences. With strong branding, you have the opportunity to become an authority in your field or industry and build loyal customer followings.
7. Take a (Deep) Breath
Running a business is no small feat — especially in 2022. We know you’ve faced challenges, instituted necessary adjustments, and had to rethink how your business operates in a big way. Before doing anything else, just take a deep breath. In, out. In, out. You made it to this point. We know it hasn’t been easy, but you’re here.
Moving forward, make sure to reestablish the caring of YOU. To give your best to your business, you need to resolve to achieve the proper work-life balance. It can’t be all work and no play — or you (or your employees) will burn out faster than those Christmas lights you still haven’t taken down.