New Year's Business Resolutions & Your Web Hosting Provider

Business Web Hosting and Business Resolutions For 2007

If you own an online business then hopefully you reaped significant benefits from the 2006 record-breaking online shopping extravaganza. Although the final tallies won’t be available until next week, it appears that online shopping topped the 100 billion mark.

Although the temptation to rest on our laurels may be strong, business owners must quickly turn their attention to the year ahead. It is critical to develop business plans for 2007 that will maximize your ability to interact with the growing number of tech-savvy customers who love the convenience of shopping online. 

Here are some New Year’s Resolutions to consider:

• Make sure you are maximizing the internet as your marketing tool. This is especially important for small and midsized businesses because the internet is the great equalizer. Through a coordinated mix of search marketing, search engine optimization and keyword lead generation efforts businesses of all sizes have equal opportunity to substantially increase their leads and ultimately, their bottom line sales. Approximately 85% of internet users rely solely on search engines to locate information on the web. 

• Make sure your strategy includes a detailed, but flexible business plan. The most successful companies are those that are constantly innovating. Make sure your web host clearly understands your business goals for the year. Your web hosting service can provide sound advice and a range of creative resources to help you achieve your goals.  

• Maximize your people power. As your online business grows, it will be important for you to have effective methods in place to recruit and retain people who consistently add value and contribute to your company’s success.  A targeted human resources campaign leveraging the right mix of job-related web sites can help you find candidates whose talents are compatible with your needs. Once they are on board, make sure they get the training and support they need to be successful.

• Stay a step ahead of technology. You can do this even if you are techno phobic to the tenth power. Your web host is your in-house expert on this topic. Talk to your host to make sure you are fully utilizing cutting-edge technology on your site. Technology continues to move forth at a rapid pace – providing companies with multiple ways to streamline their internal processes and reduce operating expenditures. Externally, a growing body of research indicates that today’s consumers increasingly rely on the  internet, cell phones and PDAs to access information, purchase new products and communicate with family and friends.

Of course, making New Year’s resolutions is the easy part. Keeping them is another matter entirely. Gary Ryan Blair, a wealthy philanthropist, created the “10MillionResolutins.com,” site to create a fundamental change in the way people go about setting their New Year’s resolutions. According to Blair, the goal of his web site is to help create a better world, one resolution at time.

Blair maintains that commitment is the key to success in resolution making. “The problem does not lie with the resolution, but with commitment. Commitments present themselves in delineations of black and white. Successful resolutions are the results of making and keeping commitments to yourself and others.”

Making tons of money is fun only if your work/life balance stays in proportion. Too many people sacrifice personal relationships (and happiness) to achieve business success. This year, resolve to run your business in a way that allows for both personal and business success.

Consider the following in 2007:

• Don’t let email run your life
• Eat lunch at lunch time – and not at your desk
• Fall in love with the delete key and learn the power of right clicking
• Take time each morning to think and plan your work
• Include family time on your “to-do” list
• Make sure there is no scroll bar in your mail “inbox” at the end of the day.
• Respect your time and the time of others
• Get organized so you won’t waste time looking for things you can’t find.

If the last resolution listed is hard for you because your organizational skills are weak or nonexistent, join the club. Organization doesn’t come naturally to most of us. The answer to your dilemma may lie in cyberspace. Thousands of people used virtual assistants in 2006 to help them get organized and achieve their goals. The virtual assistant industry has grown by leaps and bounds and is especially attractive to people who run small online businesses. Your web host can also help you in your quest to stay organized. Talk to your host to make sure you are using your record-keeping software to its fullest potential.

Thus far, 2007 is a blank page. This time next year that page will be filled with either mediocre performance or mind-bogging success. Careful planning and creativity will put you in the latter category. Here’s to your success!