A few New Year's resolutions for small-business owners

Here are suggestions from three top small-business advisers about what a business owner might do to make 2008 a better year.

Tony Massarro, tax partner at Porte Brown LLC, an Elk Grove Village CPA firm that works with privately held firms.

• Contact me (or your own accountant) before making any large financial transaction. Otherwise, I'm just a scorekeeper, not a coach. You've already sold your building when we perhaps could have done a (tax-advantaged) 1031 transfer. Or you've already pulled money out of your IRA.

• Set up a retirement plan. It's the last good tax shelter out there. You can take a dollar from one pocket and put it in another and get a tax write-off. And your money will compound faster in a tax-sheltered plan.

• Listen to me (and your other business advisers) when you call for advice.

• Call me before you pay any bill you receive from the IRS. Too many individuals figure a bill from the IRS must be correct, so they pay it. Even if you wind up owing money, (your tax adviser) may be able to help reduce the penalty.

• Watch your computer system. Your network is like a car. You need to change the oil and maybe do a tune-up. If your computer network goes down, you can be in serious trouble, like a car that's dead on the highway.

Steve Bob, executive director of the Elgin-based Fox Valley Micro Loan Fund:

The Fund makes loans to small businesses that do not qualify for traditional financing. Bob is on the fund's board.

• Take the business planning process seriously. I talk to too many people who say "The plan is in my head." Your business plan should be a benchmark for your business, something to review quarterly so you can gauge progress.

• I'm pretty rigid about this, but the numbers in your business plan should match up. If your financial data doesn't add up, then I wonder about what other parts of your business won't add up. It's the same with misspellings. What other mistakes have you made?

• Don't make financial commitments until you have the money. Don't rent office or production space, for example, before you know whether you have financing to get your business going.

Harriet Parker, coordinator of the Illinois Small Business Development Center at Waubonsee Community College, Aurora:

• Create a business infrastructure -- your accounting system, your customer database. Put the system in place at the beginning, when you have time to learn it. Notes on the back of an envelope aren't enough.

• Put a value on your time. There is an expense -- your time -- when you perform a task for your business.

• Too many entrepreneurs don't understand the sales cycle. Someone may love your product, but how often will they buy it?

• Take time to pick your head up and see what is going on around you. Otherwise you'll miss trends and opportunities.

© 2007 121 Marketing Resources, Inc.