Countdown for your New Year Strategic Thinking Business.

The beginning of a new year is a great time to get a checkup on the fitness and health of your business as strategic preparation for the year ahead. Business owners and their management team have the opportunity to perform an annual “checkup” on every aspect of their business, get rid of the “unhealthy" behaviors and performances and address the “unhealthy” things in their businesses, and start with a fitness plan to ensure a prosperous new year.

Here are ten top tips to ensure a healthy start to the new year from your strategic thinking business coach.

+ Review your business performance. An honest review of the business over the past year can show what worked well and what didn't. By looking at the successes and the failures over the past year will put you in a far better position to plan effectively for the new year.

+ Begin your strategic thinking and planning. Review the past year performance, set the goals that you want to accomplish in the new business year and develop a strategic action plan to achieve your goals.

+ Commit to being more organized in the new year so that time is not wasted looking for things you need and to improve work flow.

+ Clear your desk and eliminate clutter. Discipline yourself to keep relevant information on your desk when needed so you can improve your concentration on the task at hand and not be distracted by other items that makes your mind wander.

+ Clear your computer. Delete all spam and junk emails that you do not need. Act on any urgent messages and organize the rest in appropriate files.

+ Back up your business records to guard against a potential devastating impact on your business. You could back up your data onto a disc, or use a professional data back up company to store it for you

+ Develop a system, if one does not exist, and commit to a follow-up system with your accounts to manage your accounts receivable.

+ Commit to good cash flow management. Develop strategies to consider alternative methods of funding, which can guarantee your business has a flexible and ongoing supply of working capital, enabling you to put your business plans into action.

+ Commit to creating an environment that encourages the professional development of your staff.

Your strategic thinking business coach encourages you to take a close look at your business and its performance during the past year. Use the new year to develop a fresh outlook, renewed enthusiasm and ambition for the year ahead. The start of the new year is the right time for you to review your strategic plan, business plan, marketing plan, and other plans and then develop the appropriate strategic action plan to position you and your business for a very healthy business year.

By: J. Glenn Ebersole, Jr