Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning we get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through our links, at no cost to you. Please read our disclosure for more info.
Last Updated on January 20, 2024 by Work In My Pajamas
Enough talk about the world coming to an end. 2013 is another new year and we are surely in for another exciting ride. With the financial instability being experienced by North America and Europe, political tensions occurring in various parts of Asia and Africa… and if various corollaries to Murphy’s Law are to be believed, it can only get worse.
You, the entrepreneur who managed to survive yet another year (in the black, hopefully), are in for more thrills and spills. To prepare for the impending imbroglio, you must shape up and steel yourself and your enterprise/s for the trials ahead.
Here are a few simple but important resolutions that an ambitious small businessman must seriously consider doing to prepare for 2013:
Be Lean and Mean
It’s time to burn off the unsightly bulges and excesses from your business. It’s going to hurt a bit, but culling the non-performing assets is essential to get ready for more challenging times. This includes projects or product lines that keep bleeding you of money and time without yielding revenue or even a hint of it in the near future, marketing campaigns, inventory that’s costing you money just to keep in a warehouse, and others.
Human resources should also be reviewed. For a young and growing company such as yours, there is no room for people who are satisfied with merely parking their behinds in a chair and collecting wages. All members of your merry company must be metaphorically hungry; they must be eager to advance the interests of your group along with their own, and be willing to go the extra mile in ensuring that.
Never Miss an Opportunity
Hold on there, I’m not telling you to jump at every single chance at profit. Due diligence is necessary as well. If signs point towards an opportunity with acceptable risks and worthwhile regards, go for it. Do not create excuses and bellyache; as sure as the sun, you will make errors of judgement, but if your takeaway from it is a valuable lesson or two (and your company is still afloat), then it would have been worth it.
The centers of wealth all over the world are shifting; a resourceful, creative, and near-insanely determined entrepreneur will find a way to put himself where the lucrative opportunities will be. Keep your eyes open for such opportunities, for it may turn your young and scrappy company into big and prominent one in no time.
Be Persistent and Relentless
Even if you have all the brains, talent, contacts, and other inherent advantages you could think of, all of that won’t amount to much if you do not drive yourself and your people to succeed. The words of Calvin Coolidge captures the essence of this idea:
“Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”
I wish you all a most warm and joyous Holiday season, and I hope all of you come out swinging and ready to kick some tail in 2013!
About the Author: Stacey Thompson is a professional writer, marketer, entrepreneur, and a lover of weird little animals. She is based in San Diego, California, and works with companies that celebrate and enable the budding entrepreneur like Rock & Dirt, one of the most extensive online equipment marketplaces for construction equipment and heavy machinery.