ENTREPRENEUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION: Suzi Dafnis

Suzi Dafnis is 41 years old, a marketing guru, and burst on to the BRW Rich List with a worth of $14 million. She founded Pow Wow Events and now runs the Australian Businesswomen’s Network.

Suzi Dafnis is 41 years old, a marketing guru, and burst on to the BRW Rich List with a worth of $14 million. She founded Pow Wow Events and now runs the Australian Businesswomen’s Network.

Here are her hopes for 2009.

• Connect more with my tribe

Help the women in the Australian Businesswomen’s Network community connect and network with each other and share ideas. (Note: I need to update the platform that allows them to do this.)

• Communicate and share knowledge

Ramp up my strategic use of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and blogging to create connections and to share knowledge with my community. Establish thought leadership status as a connector and networker.

• Focus, focus, focus

Focus on one thing (not 25) and become the best in the world at it!

• Get fit(ter)

Do that half-marathon again in May and slash 15 or 20 minutes of my time. Yes, that means real training for a few months to build up the strength to do this.

• Collaborate

Seek partners who, like me, want to see women in business grow and prosper. Sponsors, partners, supporters who want to work with the businesswomen’s community – I’ve got my eyes set on you! Run great workshops and webinars for women business owners. Offer practical solutions to their small-business problems. Make our mentoring program (hermentor.com.au) accessible to more women across Australia because it creates amazing results and more women need to know about it and how it can help their business grow.

• Get down to business

Stop messing around with projects that are fun but don’t make sense financially. Business is business. If I want to mess around doing things that are not profitable, start a not-for-profit!

• Express myself

Finally sign up for those dance/singing classes that I’ve been putting off for years. (Yikes – now it’s out there!)

• Keep learning

Read, study, participate in more learning on the things that I’m passionate about – marketing, communications, writing, technology, personal development.

What are your new year’s resolutions? Drop us a line at feedback@smartcompany.com.au.

Greg Muller’s resolutions

Greg Muller started online services and solution firm iFocus in 2000 when he was 26. He built it to a $5 million revenue business in 2007 and this year merged his company with Bullseye Digital and rebranded it Bullseye.

Here are a few of his resolutions for next year:

1. Not take myself so seriously.
2. Despite the gloom, keep focused on the end game.
3. Increase my market-facing activity – networking and positioning will be key next year.
4. Celebrate all wins – business and personal.
5. Spend more time with my kids (because they may be getting a Wii for Christmas).
6. Aim for two days a week in the gym, but be happy if I get one!
7. Encourage innovation with the team – new thinking is often the difference.
8. Focus on value and return metrics – keep investing.
9. Gain market share.
10. Learn to cook – I hear that it may have side benefits!

Amanda Gome’s resolutions

The first half of the new year will be so tough, SmartCompany will be working over time to inspire and to challenge you to get out of bed in the morning. What a great challenge for entrepreneurs!

By the second half of the year, while everyone is still groaning, we will begin to report on some positive signs that begin to emerge. By the end of 2009, SmartCompany will be feeling far more confident about the future.

Here are my 10 new year resolutions:

1. Our competitors in print are under attack as they seek to dramatically reduce costs and pay down debt. This is the time for us to invest further in our core business; providing high quality editorial resources and giving readers more of what they love as we grab even more market share! It’s also the time to pinch good sales and marketing staff.

Resolution: Stop smirking.

2. Become web 2.0. Yeah, yeah, I know we say we are – but I have a confession. We love being gatekeepers and telling readers what to read, as do all good journalists. But next year we are giving up all control! We relaunch SmartCompany web 2.0 in February.

Resolution: Do not freak out at lack of control.

3. Need cash

Resolution: Get cash in the door any way we morally, professionally and ethically can.

4. Make sure that in battling the downturn, important issues for business do not go off the agenda such as climate change.

Resolution: Set up SmartCompany Green Company awards to champion those businesses that have made huge green strides.

5. Educate small business about online. Many Australian retailers don’t understand the benefits of a good website. Many small and medium businesses are not taking advantage of advertising online and using other inefficient forms of advertising like newspapers, TV and magazines.

Resolution: Learn to avoid jargon such as “CPM” and explain online advertising and benefits more clearly. (Please note, sales and marketing staff.)

6. Cut costs further, particularly in IT. Look at what new types of technology we can adapt to do things quicker, better, faster and provide more services for advertisers and readers.

Resolution: Sit down with all IT and technology bills and renegotiate. Explore mobile technologies.

7. Stop people doing their money! It happened in the 1990s and it will happen again as people who are retrenched rush off and startup small businesses. We have already seen inquiry level for franchisees rise. Research shows us that “necessity entrepreneurs” (people that start businesses through necessity) are not nearly as successful as “opportunity entrepreneurs” mainly because they jump in without analyzing the opportunity properly. It will also be important that these potential business owners can set their businesses up properly and understand the basics.

Resolution: Run start up seminars to assist the retrenched, get started properly.

8. Listen creatively. Next year is about meeting constantly with clients (that is, advertisers) and providing fresh ideas to solve their problems.

Resolutions: Shut my mouth for the first five minutes when meeting with clients.

9. Find more stress busters for 2009 because I will need them. Walking in the bush and the gym are not enough. Might have to add alcohol to the mix.

Resolution: Stock up on French champagne in January as they try and clear unsold Christmas stock and before the price goes up in March. Plan to spend some strategy days at home, just thinking, away from day to day clutter.

10. Aunty B was outrageous this year. She has told poor hapless business owners seeking her help that they “are nuts”. She has offended GenYs across the country and advised out of touch, grumpy baby boomers to hurry up and retire to the great golf course in the sky. What will she say next?

Resolution: Sack Aunty B and hope the editor doesn’t reinstate her.