In a recent post on Package Your Genius, Michelle Welch outlined her 7 Rules to Growing a Rockin’ Business in 2013, which contain some valuable tips on thriving in what promises to be a challenging business environment in this new year. Welch’s key suggestions include:

  1. Don’t be a one man band – Many entrepreneurs are under the impression that they have to act as CEO, Treasurer, Janitor and Chief Bottle Washer when instead the key to success in growing any small business is to delegate your responsibilities and tasks to capable, skilled and motivated personnel. The C-Suite of Delta Airlines doesn’t issue boarding passes and toss baggage onto conveyers so you shouldn’t take such a hands on approach that you’re spending the time you should be running your company in doing the menial and manual work which is so much better allocated to paid employees.
  2. Chillax and slow down – In an average business day it may seem as if there are a zillion priorities and all of them have to be accomplished right this very minute or the heavens will fall on the shell of what was once your small business. That is not necessarily the case, as with some meticulous prioritization and the implementation of efficient checklists you will find that only a very small portion of those priorities really do need to be prioritized, while the vast majority can be easily placed on the back burner awaiting their turn.
  3. Commit through your bank account – There is nothing like having a considerable amount of your cash tied into your small business to motivate you to keep your nose to the grindstone. When you have your nest egg and your kids’ college funds riding on working hard and making the right decisions you will be amazed at how efficient, productive, and finally successful that pressure will make you be, one way or another.
  4. Rock then burn the boat – If you’re perfectly happy serving the same old customers with the same old product at the same old pricing as it keeps the mortgage paid and gas in the tank of your SUV, then you’re not succeeding but stagnating. You should always strive to accomplish even greater heights for your small business as a whole while establishing and maintaining the reputation as a dynamic, forward-looking, progressive company. Keep pushing the limits, rock that boat, then burn it outright in order to keep yourself on the edge and prevent creeping stultification.
  5. Plan your work & work your plan – If you’re just reacting to every event in your business life, you’re going to burn out your business or yourself or even both. There is no effective option but to step away from the minute by minute frenzy that is at the core of each of your business days and concoct an overall action plan that is realistic, realizable and results-oriented. Your basic goal should never be to just survive until the end of the day, but to make each business day mark a forward step of progress towards ever greater levels of high achievement.

Since we’ve survived last December’s Mayan Apocalypse, business is now entering a new age. This will be a year which is marked by an even more increased emphasis on reputation, trust, stability and providing the customer base with the greatest possible levels of value. If you look at 2013 as a year of opportunity to rise to the challenge and achieve the greatest dreams of your company, then you stand a much better chance of succeeding than if you are possessed by thoughts of falling off the fiscal cliff with the rest of the country and the world.

Welch’s tips are exceptionally sagacious and if you commit your entire company from the executive office down to the shipping and receiving dock to rededicating all efforts towards pleasing your customer and providing exceptional value in all of your offerings, then while your competitors will be in freefall down that nasty cliff, you’ll be climbing high and waving at them as they plummet down!