I would like to make a New Year’s business resolution, any ideas?

In the spirit of the New Year, here are five New Year’s ‘business’ resolutions you might like to think about. No need to do all five, one done well would be plenty.

1. Increase your prices.

When was the last time you increased your prices? For some small businesses that might be many years ago, but even if you historically had a good track record of reviewing prices you may have kept them low during the GFC. Even if you don’t increase your prices at least do a review to make sure you aren’t leaving money on the table.

2. Decide your level of investment in the community, and stick to it.

Many businesses give special discounts to customers in need, and it’s a great way of giving back to the community. But watch how much you give away. One business I know reviewed the amount of ‘specials’ they had donated in a year and discovered that a whopping 40% of the work they had done had been at a significant discount. If you do give special ‘in need’ discounts, set a limit at the beginning of the year, and then stick to it. This will also give you the discipline to properly evaluate those asking for a special deal.

3. Start a good meeting rhythm.

If you want to keep your strategic plan alive in your business, set aside a two-hour meeting each month at which the management team work only on strategic matters. Support the day–to-day workings of the business by holding weekly one-hour operational meetings. Start the year afresh by booking these meetings in the calendar and make the meetings non-negotiable, no one should be too busy to attend.

4. Work on your Achilles heel

Many businesses have an Achilles’ heel; an area of weakness largely hidden by the strength of the rest of the business. These flaws can represent a great untapped opportunity because in many cases a relatively small improvement in the health of the Achilles’ heel can yield a significant increase in profit. To make an impact in 2010, locate your Achilles’ heel, work out a way of measuring it – called a critical number – and put actions in place.

5. Bite the bullet, fire the employee who doesn’t fit your business.

I’ve lost count of the number of times CEO’s have spoken to me about someone in the company, in a key role, who isn’t right for the business. Even though they know that they should move the ‘misfit’ employee on, they don’t. If you wouldn’t enthusiastically re-hire an employee they are probably not right for your business. Use the New Year as impetus to ensure you have the right people in your business.

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Julia Bickerstaff’s expertise is in helping businesses grow profitably. She runs two businesses: Butterfly Coaching, a small advisory firm with a unique approach to assisting SMEs with profitable growth; and The Business Bakery, which helps kitchen table tycoons build their best businesses. Julia is the author of “How to Bake a Business” and was previously a partner at Deloitte. She is a chartered accountant and has a degree in economics from The London School of Economics (London University).