TIPS & RESOURCES

5 New Year’s Resolutions for Entrepreneurs in 2017

As an entrepreneur, you’re always trying to level up. Whether that be learning a new skill that can elevate your business, challenging yourself, or putting in some extra work – you’re always trying to improve. And that’s no different at the beginning of the New Year. It’s your chance to reflect on 2016 and lay out some more goals to help you crush it in 2017.So to help you continue your streak of entrepreneurial success, we’ve laid out some worthy entrepreneurial New Year’s resolutions for 2017!Here are 5 New Year’s resolutions for entrepreneurs in 2017…

Step Up Your Video Efforts

Video is here to stay. Instagram Stories and Snapchat Stories are an excellent way to communicate your personality and build trust with your prospects and customers. Additionally, Facebook Live and live video streaming, in general, allow you to talk with your audience in real-time and build your brand. You can even step your ad efforts with videos, and start creating high-converting Facebook video ads. If you’ve been procrastinating on the video front, it’s time to jump in and get started.

Provide Better Customer Service

We’ve talked about customer service throughout 2016, but it’s worth repeating. When you provide better customer service, you’ll have more loyal customers, quickly gain new customers and your employees will be more excited to show up for work. Even if you have quality customer service now, there are always ways it can be improved. Check out some of these articles to get started:

Connect With Other Like-Minded Entrepreneurs

As an entrepreneur, your personal network is one of your greatest assets. So it’s no surprise that for Mark Zuckerberg’s 2013 New Years resolution, he vowed to meet one person a day outside of Facebook. The more great people (and entrepreneurs) you meet, the more your mind will expand to other possibilities. You’ll grow more friendships, make stronger business connections, and overall enjoy life a lot more. You can start by placing yourself in a great community! Check out some of these buzzing cities for entrepreneurs in the US.

Keep Educating Yourself

You should also be educating yourself – especially in the areas of finance, communication, leadership, and the specific areas related to your industry. Through constant self-education, you can keep your mind sharp, build empathy (and a deeper understanding of different cultures), and also stay up on the latest marketing trends for 2017.Here are some quick tips to make self-education easier:

Queue up a podcast or audiobook while commuting to work, washing the dishes, or doing other menial tasks
Develop a reading habit and read at least 30 minutes per day
Download the Feedly app to keep track of the latest blogs and news in your industry

Outsource To Make Your Life (and Business) Easier

You don’t need to handle all the tasks yourself. Heck, you don’t even need a full-time employee to handle those other tasks. Look to outsource where you can – this helps you save money on full-time salaries and all the costs involved with them, and can even result in a better output from certain positions. For example, just by outsourcing your receptionist to an online answering service, you can save up to 70% per month!

Conclusion

When you taste a little success, it’s easy to sit back and rest on your laurels. But as an entrepreneur, you know you can’t do that for long because that success won’t last forever. That’s why in 2017, you need to keep pushing forward and improving yourself and your business. Use these New Years resolutions to get started! What other entrepreneurial resolutions do you have for 2017? Let us know in the comments below!