So it’s that time of the year again and we will have made promises that we really hope we can keep. On a personal note I am sure there is a movement towards becoming more healthy, exercising and eating properly. I am a true believer in linking your personal goals with your business goals. If you are healthy the chances are you will have a healthy business. If you are unwell the chances are you are making unwholesome business decisions. Therefore, I believe there is a clear link between your body, your mind and your business wellbeing. The focus of this article is to not only to focus on your personal resolutions but simultaneously focus on your business resolutions.

On that note, here are some suggestions that may help you build a healthier business and inevitably a healthier brand.

• Staying Positive – we all know it’s hard to keep spirits up but it is a must in these times. Happiness is a tool we can use to increase our chances of achieving success in our personal and working lives. Colleagues and customers will benefit from your optimism. I heard a great quote late last year which I am bringing with me in 2011 - We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.

• Be Aware of Assumptions – they are dangerous. Never assume. We are often trapped into a certain approach by the assumptions we are making. For example, when businesses want to promote themselves people often assume advertising is an expensive form of communication. Questioning your assumptions is so powerful and creative because it gets you "out of the box," meaning out of the usual way of looking at problems. You get to look beyond the normal solutions when you challenge assumptions. In the communications scenario above, find out the prices of the possible mediums or look to the world of emarketing which is often a more effective less expensive option.

• Managing Your Fear – what is stopping you? This is a question I ask many people who are afraid to leave the world of the employee and enter the world of entrepreneurship. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who are currently forced to do so due to unemployment. However, the same fears apply. You must look at facing your fears and examining your personal and business skills. It is important that you have the right set of skills to open, manage and grow your own business. If you don’t have certain skills it is very possible to acquire such skills. This also applies to those of us who fear change. Entering new markets, diversifying, rebranding and so on are all risky options, but ask yourself – if this is a informed strategic decision what am I afraid of?

• Goal Setting – just like the goal of a healthier life in the New Year we must all look to set our 2011 business goals. Simultaneously these two areas can help each other. As mentioned, if we are healthy in our personal lives the chances are we will be running a healthy business. Therefore, set your personal goals alongside those of your business goals. Be realistic, be fair to yourself, but be somewhat adventurous. If you put something in writing you are on the way to making it happen. Yes - put it out there.

• Reducing Procrastination – unfortunately we all do this. All of us. However, it is something we can try and reduce. We all put off something today and promise we will do it tomorrow. One of the solutions to procrastination is to link those goals you have set with a clear action plan.

• Plan, Plan, Plan – Planning provides a clear sense of direction, it reduces uncertainties, it assists in allocating resources, it improves adaptability, and more importantly it enhances action. If you want to achieve your goals – plan to make them happen.

Finally, this a great time to revisit and reassess what your achieved in 2010. Resolutions are great but they come from us constantly growing and surviving in this exciting and ever changing business world. Remember to look at what really worked for you last year and remember not to lose focus of those goals and objectives you set when you first started out your business.

Look to the future but don’t forget the past.