It’s not too late to make New Year’s resolutions for your business that can set you on the path to success. In the same way large corporations set annual targets to ensure good results, you can benefit by making New Year’s resolutions to focus your strategy and grow your business.

Joshua Zuchter, independent business and life coach in Toronto, offers these three New Year’s resolutions for financial advisors:

1. Increase your sales by 15%
To keep your business profitable, you have to keep it growing. But resolving to increase your sales may not be enough.

“To stay on track,” Zuchter says, “it is important to create a resolution that is specific and measurable.” He suggests setting a realistic growth target and making a step-by-step plan to get there.

“Start from identifying what you want to achieve by December 2011,” he says, “and work backwards to make a monthly plan on how to get there.”

2. Motivate your staff
Satisfied staff means satisfied customers, because happy employees are more likely to be diligent and motivated to provide excellent service to clients.

An important first step in improving staff satisfaction is to break bad business habits, such as being a hands-on manager. “While micromanaging can increase your bottom line,” Zuchter says, “it severely decreases your staff’s fulfillment at work and increases your workload.”

Rather than motivating your staff by pressuring them to perform, Zuchter suggests, look into alternatives such as encouraging employees to attend events and courses that will add to their abilities and engage them in your business.

3. Find work/life balance
Many financial advisors suffer from a lack of work/life balance, according to Zuchter. “Some work 80-hour weeks and their personal relationships suffer,” he says. “The more balanced a life you have, the more you enjoy your work.”

To restore balance to your life, Zuchter suggests, take regular breaks for meals during the day. And be sure to take at least one day of the week off work. For workaholics, that means not even checking your email.

“Advisors can become too attached to their Blackberrys,” Zuchter says. “It’s important to take control of your technology rather than allow yourself to be controlled by it.”

Stay on track

Of course, making a resolution is one thing; keeping it is quite another. Zuchter offers these tips to help you stick to your New Year’s plan:

> Start small
“Do not set more than three resolutions,” Zuchter says. “And make sure they are achievable, or you will feel overwhelmed and give up.”

> Be specific
Keep yourself on track by creating a resolution that is measurable, Zuchter advises. Don’t just say: “I want to grow my staff.” Instead, say: “By 2012, I want to have eight balanced and motivated advisors on my team, instead of four.”

> Make your resolution a priority each day
“If, for example, your resolution is to boost sales,” Zuchter says, “try attending a networking function every morning to meet prospective clients.”

> Make sacrifices
If you have made three resolutions your year’s priorities, Zuchter says, those will be your focus. That means you are going to have to let go of some other priorities. “You cannot do everything at once.”

> Have fun
“Make your resolutions enjoyable and inspiring,” Zuchter says. “If you are enjoying the process of achieving them, you are more likely to stick to them and make them happen.”

IE