7 Small Somethings to Boost Your Business in 2012

I’m the first to admit that I don’t much care for the tradition of making New Year’s resolutions. If you?re ready for change you’re gonna make the change. If you’re not ready, a date on the calendar isn’t going to do much to help things along. This is especially true when the desired change of state is a dramatic one, a big swing from how you would normally approach things.

So this year, instead of putting enormous pressure on yourself to move mountains, change the world, and dominate something, why not turn tradition on its head and tackle the small tweaks instead? Does everything have to be larger than life in order to matter? I think not.

Here are seven little somethings that could make a big difference to your business, your bank account, and ultimately your sanity in 2012:

1. Pay yourself first. Remember this adage? Before you outsource everything but the kitchen sink, make sure you’re putting some hard-earned cash in your own pocket. Hire help only when you can afford it and bootstrap in the meantime. You’ll be less stressed–and more motivated–when you get to keep more of your money.

2. Be frugal. Get judicious about the services and software you pay for. Do you really need a shopping cart at this point? Or will PayPal work just fine? Can you justify the expense of a souped up, custom website? Or can you get outfitted with a simple and effective WordPress site? Think return on investment. Most small biz owners spend WAY too much on bells and whistles that don?t do a thing for the bottom line.

3. Network less. The buzz of social networking is turning into white noise and less people are listening. Instead of trying to be “present” 24/7, tune in a couple times a week instead. Pre-schedule a few choice sound bytes. Be the sage who makes it count when s/he does decide to speak up. Converse one-to-one whenever you can. A personalized comment on twitter goes much further than multiple thoughtless remarks sent to no one in particular.

4. Use the phone. This old fashioned tool connects you to people more effectively than any blog post or email or Skype chat ever could. The sound of your voice is an excellent conversion tool and phone plans are cheap. Stop hiding behind the computer and make that call. Just remember to keep it short.

5. Don’t recreate. Reiterate. If you have an info product, offer to teach it live. If you teach a course live, turn it into an info product. Take a bunch of blog posts around a specific topic and turn them into an eBook or a series of teleseminars. It takes waaaay too much time, effort and money to keep reinventing yourself and your value. Do a few things well and offer them in different formats at different price points.

6. Coach yourself. Seems we think that in order to succeed we need a coach for everything now. While I believe in coaching I think we’ve grown too reliant on the support, advice and opinions of others in our quest for entrepreneurial independence (did you catch the paradox there?). YOU are your own best advocate. Read a book. Observe others. And start believing in yourself again. It works.

7. Publish less. Stop cramming your blog, your website, your newsletter and your free reports with everything and anything you can think of. Your audience needs you to cut through the crap for them. They’re feeling terribly bombarded. Help them out by publishing only when you have something truly valuable to share. Same goes for email. Be brief and resist the urge to over explain. Short and sweet is often the kindest communication of all.

It’s truly the small stuff that matters in life and in business. Big stuff has its place and sometimes big, bold moves are required to shake things up and create the change of state you?re seeking. But on the balance, chasing Big is exhausting and generally not sustainable. And well, I’m bored to death of “Big.”

Small is the new black.

So road test these seven little somethings in 2012 and see what happens. Who knows? By 2013 you may be advocating for more “small” in life. Feels better already, doesn’t it?