1. Get organized on a personal and business level. Be methodical instead of haphazard to increase your chances of success of achieving personal and business goals. I'm in the middle of doing spring cleaning. 

2. Spending more than you earn can get you into trouble yet sticking to a budget, like a diet, can be difficult. One guiding principle that helps me is to ‘get only what I need, so I can get exactly what I want’. For example, when it comes to clothes and shoes, I tend to only shop on a ‘as needed basis’ but when I walk into a sports store...my knees feel weak, my eyes light up, and I get what I want.

3. Take advantage of the free annual credit report. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com to make sure that your credit report is accurate and to correct any errors as soon as possible.

4. Leverage your business talents. Don’t focus on what you can’t do or don’t know how to do. Grow your business bases on your strengths and outsource or delegate your weaknesses to others.

5. Don’t delay to delegate. Even if you are strong in many areas of your business, don’t stretch yourself thin. Trust others with the jobs or tasks that are not the best use of your talents and time.

6. Reduce clutter. Donate or throw away things that are simply taking up space. Donations may be eligible for a charitable deduction on your income tax. Reducing clutter and significantly re-arranging my home gives me a new perspective on things. Besides, re-arranging is a cheap but very effective alternative to replacing or renovating. 

7. Plan for retirement. It’s never too soon.

8. Review your insurance coverage. Insurance that you may have taken out years ago may not provide adequate protection for you business or family today. Check your insurance policies to see if any adjustments should be made.

9. Save for and plan for emergencies. What is your back-up plan if your business fails or  if you were to lose your job tomorrow? Try to set aside emergency funds that will sustain you for several months in a worst-case scenario. Some of you may not have enough money to sustain you and your family today, much less to think about setting money aside for an emergency tomorrow. If you can’t ‘save for a rainy day’ today, at least put it on your ‘to-do-list’, so that when you do start to earn extra money, you will put aside a portion of it.