By Tina Hilton of Clerical Advantage

We’re just hours away from a brand new year. As some scramble to find the perfect outfit to ring out the old year, some of us are contemplating what to expect in the next. I’ll admit that until I became a business owner, I really didn’t think much about setting goals and making plans for the new year. I rarely even made resolutions, figuring there wasn’t much point since most of them were broken before February 1st.

Even as a new business owner last year, I met the New Year with my only goal being to meet certain monetary goals that would allow me to survive.

I wonder how many people meet each new year with just that one goal. Survival. I’m sure in this economy if you asked many small business owners what their goal(s) for the new year are that one would be at the top of their list.

Not me.  This year I’m greeting the new year with a totally different attitude. A sudden epiphany occurred to me this week. The only limits that my business and I have are the ones I put upon myself. So my plan includes not only surviving, but thriving. Not merely staying alive, but growing. In order to do so, I realized it was going to require more than just determining that was what I wanted for my business.  I began a search for something to help me set goals and draft a plan for 2009.

I discovered there is plenty of help available.  I chose Alice Seba’s Free Online Business Planning Calendar which has yearly, monthly and daily worksheets to fill out that will assist me in keeping on track.  I also found Denise O’Berry’s free How To Achieve Your Goals so I’m certain there are plenty of others out there as well.

How are you greeting the new year?  Are you hoping or planning? Me? I’m enjoying the process of planning my success.

If you have questions concerning virtual assistance or have an interest in working with a virtual assistant you can contact Tina Hilton or visit her business website for Clerical Advantage.