Survey Says: What Is Small Businesses' Top New Year's Resolution For 2012?

More than half (57 percent) of small businesses' top New Year's resolution is to expand marketing to attract more customers, according to the latest Intuit Small Business Survey conducted in November. Sixty-seven percent of small businesses are optimistic this step will lead to business growth in the next 12 months, in spite of the current economic climate.

In fact, business growth is on small-business owners' minds. Thirty-five percent (compared to 27 percent last year) say it's their top priority in 2012 -- even above paying the bills. If they got a new line of credit, what would they do with it? Almost half of small-business owners (48 percent) would expand their range of services and offerings -- another 48 percent would increase their marketing and/or advertising budgets.

Why it matters to your business: I've always believed that as an entrepreneur, you can't just "hold steady" -- you've got to keep growing and making big plans, even in tough times. In 2012, don't just hope to hold on -- plan to expand. Get out your old business plan, dust it off and figure out new ways to move your business forward. What would you do if you had all the resources you need? Dream big, then figure out how to achieve at least some of those goals, no matter what.

Comments

[SBCashFlow]

11:01 PM on 01/12/2012

Make it your New Year's resolution as a small business owner to stay on top of your finances. Start with preparing your cash flow projection for 2012. I have an excel cash flow template and detailed instructions on how to start your new year on the right track at www.smartbusinesscashflow.com.

[The Startup Expert]

12:12 AM on 12/31/2011

What I love about the Intuit survey this article references is this incredible statistic: 67% of entrepreneurs started their business because of personal passion. That is huge and very moving.

As an entrepreneurial consultant and mentor, my own less formal research would agree - and add one significant fact to this Intuit research. Not only are entrepreneurs passionate about their businesses, they also want to make a big difference in this world and leave a legacy. How powerful!

Read about my unforgettable discovery here:
http://thestartupexpert.com/unforgettable/

Regards
Tommi Wolfe
The Startup Expert

[BrandedBusiness]

01:05 PM on 12/30/2011

This is great to hear. It's kind of like the chicken and the egg question...you can't make more money if you don't market but you can't market without having more money. With all of the tools out there it's easy to find ways to creatively promote your small business on a budget. At Branded Business Apps we are committed to finding those solutions for our clients. Our mobile app platform is affordable and easily manageable, even for the small business owner that is typically found juggling all of it. We currently have an awesome deal running on Group Price and we encourage you to check us out and think about how a mobile app could be your ticket to a great New Year!
http://groupprice.com/7/2636-Fully_Branded_Mobile_App_-_$249!__GroupPrice_EXCLUSIVE.html

Allison with www.brandedbusinessapps.com

[EdwardAli]

03:08 PM on 12/29/2011

This is so true of all of us, I am surfing the net right now trying to come up with more ways to expand my business - ironic! I would like to share my best finding which is a company called Magicbuz who do online SocioViral marketing which is basically a team of conversationalists that market your business to the right people all over the net using all the different social media available. It's great because I just don't have the time to be on Facebook, twitter, media reports and blogs, monitoring and promoting my business when I should be working for money. We all know the importance of marketing but we need to stay aware of the new generations and trends, which are all on the net, Magicbuz knows how to best reach them for me, so that is my plan for 2012.

[dumocraps]

02:10 PM on 12/29/2011

Mine is to fire more Liberal Progressive Democrats.

[she343]

10:50 PM on 12/29/2011

please tell the name of you bus.--wouldn't want to do business with someone who is so biased