Business New Year Resolutions

We all have the typical personal resolutions, exercise more, stop eating chocolate blah blah blah, but how about resolutions for your business or work ethic?  The New Year is always a great motivation to give yourself a good kick up the you know what and put those plans into action.

As a new freelancer (and full time mumma of a 6 month old) I thought I'd share a few of my light hearted business new year resolutions to inspire you to do the same!

1.  Keep connected - Whatever your platform, Twitter, Linkin etc it's good to talk.  Keeping up-to-date with your industry and connecting with others is the best way to get you noticed and to keep yourself and content relevant.

2. To-do lists - I know there are apps and fancy calendar things on outlook that can do this for you, but for me, you can't beat a good old fashioned written to-do list.  Which reminds me, must put 'write to-do list' on my mental to-do list!

3. Stop putting exclamation marks in copy, tweets and blogs when not entirely necessary!!  I know, it's annoying, I just get excited! :)

and finally number 4. Don't sweat the small stuff - However stressed you may get with work in 2011, if you have a child that smiles at you like mine, you know that family is the most important thing in this world.  So make time for them and don't let business rule your head 24/7! (that ! was needed)

Discuss on Twitter #businessnewyearresolutions

To gift or not to gift?

Tis the season to be jolly and a jolly client makes for an easier working relationship, we can all appreciate that!  Gifts and dinner invitations seem to arrive in waves this time of year to offices around the world but do clients appreciate the good will or are they laughing at you from a desk brimming with champagne, gift vouchers and Nintendo Wii's (yes, a company I know send Nintendo Wii's to their top clients).

I can view this subject from two ways, working client side it was nice to receive shortbread and chocolates (yep, no Wii's for me!) but did it make me loyal to those suppliers?  Not really! and shouldn't it really be the client thanking the supplier for all their hard work over the year? All we ever sent suppliers was a generic html e-card, woo!  but now, working as a freelancer, I do find myself looking for ways to impress clients and set myself apart from the rest.

It is all becoming a tad like parents buying presents for teachers, the bigger the better, but is it productive?  My feeling is that the old faithful, hand written, Christmas card with a personal message should do the trick!