Small business owners resolve to watch details

Poll shows lots of goals set for ’07, most common is to track performance

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updated 4:58 p.m. ET Dec. 20, 2006

NEW YORK - One of Julie Kampf’s New Year’s resolutions for her small business is to be sure the executive search firm is focused on what it does best.

Mary Shnack’s resolution is a little more concrete: She plans to finish her company’s business plan. And Kassie Rempel’s is downright mundane — she’s going to eat lunch each day.

The Associated Press conducted a very informal e-mail survey of small business owners, and found that many have come up with things they want to change out their business in the new year. Many owners’ resolutions are specific to their own companies — putting together a formal business plan, finally starting to work with a budget or monitoring cash flow. But there’s a common thread, and that is to pay closer attention to how the business is doing.

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To help her company stick with its resolution, Kampf is planning quarterly meetings that will allow her and her staff to take a step back and be sure they’re on the right course.

Kampf’s company, JBK Associates Inc. in Englewood, N.J., has had a niche in helping businesses in the life sciences and consumer products industries find senior-level management. But as time has gone by and her business has grown, clients would come with requests beyond her company’s scope. She’d do the work, but ultimately, Kampf said, that was a bad idea.

“We satisfied our clients, but when you get too far away from what you started as and for what you’re grounded in, it’s a recipe for problems,” she said.

Tim Berry, president of Palo Alto Software in Eugene, Ore., also plans to reassess his business. He’s run a company for decades, but noted that he’s lost some employees, and that’s a sign to him that some change might be needed.

“I do need to step away from the business and take another look at it, because we’re missing things,” he said.

Often, an owner’s New Year’s resolution is preceded by a realization that he or she just can’t do everything. “Delegate” was a resolution of many owners who responded to the AP survey.

Curt Finch has resolved to get help in doing one of the hardest parts of his job: project management.

“I’m not particularly great at it. I’m getting someone to come help me,” said Finch, CEO of Journyx, an Austin, Texas, company that makes tracking and project management software.

CONTINUED : “I was doing everything”

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