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Every new day gives you a chance to move forward from your present situation. You can improve your business on a number of fronts: by increasing profits, reducing losses, getting more customers, expanding the markets, becoming more visible in the community, going public or a number of other options deemed desirable.

Start in high gear:

Take a notebook or a laptop or PDA and note down your thoughts and plans for near future. List down ideas on new product lines, or new projects that you want to take on. Write down your ideas on how to expand and energize your business. Only through innovation and continuing adoption of relevant new products and ideas can your business improve its competitiveness and profitability. Start the ball rolling with financers, lenders and bankers if you need to take on additional capital. Continued below...

Get on the Internet:

The Internet has allowed the small entrepreneurs to reach a significantly huge market and serve their customers 24 hours a day. For just a few dollars per month, you can market your services worldwide. Who can beat that? But the greatest plus of the Internet is its ability to "level the playing field" between big business and small enterprises. A well-designed web site can extend the range, size and scope of your services, even projecting an image of a well-oiled and established corporation, instead of a small business ran by a solo operator. Develop a good website, and compete side-by-side with the big boys.

Dust off your business plans:

Review, review and review your business plan! See how far (or little) your business has taken shape from your original idea. Many entrepreneurs write a business plan at the start, only to forget about it. Some stray away from their plans - and fail. Go find your business plans and update it. Since your business' inception, a number of factors must have changed - from the overall business climate to your product line. Take all those changes into consideration, factor in your and your family's goals, and get a clear assessment of the direction of your business. Get in touch with your business advisers, if any.

Hire cheaply but effectively:

If you cannot afford to hire full-time employees, you can do two things: hire commission-only sales reps and/or hire interns. With commission-only sales reps, you only need to pay them what they earn. Interns from colleges and universities often work for free or next-to-nothing, and get college credit in return. The drawback, though, is their short-term availability, mostly during summer and spring breaks only. Or you can hire dedicated people who are willing to work for nothing in exchange for equity, should your company succeed. There are a lot of talented people who are willing to work for less in exchange for assurance of a slice of the corporate pie once the company succeeds. This is particularly true for Internet start-ups.

Find ways to increase sales to your existing customers:

It's a lot cheaper than finding new ones. Even if you can't expand your product line, you can boost revenues by selling more of your existing product or service to the clients you already have. One easy way to do this is through volume discounts. Especially if your products cost little to produce, offering your customers the chance to buy, say, two T-shirts for the price of one lets you ring up additional sales without sacrificing much profit. Another common practice is to reward loyal customers by giving them a punch card that entitles them to a free product or service for every 10 items they buy.

Explore new markets or improve marketing :

Start the year by exploring new markets for your business. Whether you are looking at targeting a new demographic or getting your business up on the web, take time to plan how you can expand your existing market. Look for ways to improve your marketing, whether by winning easy publicity, arranging an open house or preparing direct mails.

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