According to 43Things.com, the most popular 2011 New Year’s resolutions are lose weight, be happy and save money. But what about people’s business New Year’s resolutions? A survey of some Northern Arizona businesspeople reveals some of the most popular resolutions.
“Our resolution, because we’ve been so successful, is to pay it forward,” said Bob Geile of Pawn Management Group-Arizona Franchises. Geile, a managing member of the wholly-owned family business, oversees seven SuperPAWN franchise stores from Flagstaff.
In accord with that resolve, 2011 will see the creation of the Geile Charitable Foundation. “Its function is to support troubled women and children in the Flagstaff area,” explained Geile.
Giving back to the community is not foreign to the Geile family. Geile’s son, Greg, is a founder of Rollin’ for Niños Foundation, created to change the lives of Tucson’s needy children. Brother Eric, along with Greg and Bob sit on the Board of Directors. The family is also a benefactor to Flagstaff organizations like St. Vincent de Paul Society and Hope Cottage.
Kim (Geile) Bayer joined the firm after retiring from 21 years of teaching. “My New Year’s resolution is to learn more about the family business. It’s a great place to be; I can’t imagine doing anything else right now,” said the sister, who serves as administrative assistant. Cash America International (CHS) is the franchisor of SuperPAWN.
Christine Farr, owner of Merry Maids of Flagstaff for almost 14 years, said, “I’m always hoping to do more for the community. Right now, I give free cleanings to people undergoing chemotherapy. In order to do those things, you need growth, so you have the people and time to help. So, I’m looking for more growth in 2011.
“I lost three people in my family to cancer, so I looked for a way to give back and found ‘Cleaning for a Reason,’” explained the business owner. When the organization didn’t work out for Farr, she contacted the Cancer Center at Flagstaff Medical Center. With leads from the center, her crews clean every other week for the two months patients are undergoing chemotherapy.
Laurha Beveridge of Mountain Man Bronzes by B R Pettit Mountain in Williams said, “My business News Year’s resolution is to put together a team to create positive energy for letting others know about the availability of Bill’s fine art.” After Beveridge’s husband, Bill Pettit, passed away in 2006, she began making his bronze sculptures available in limited editions. Pettit is best known for his monumental work, “William Shirley Williams,” a statue that stands on Route 66 in Williams.
“Pieces of that resolution include hiring salespeople, learning to delegate and thinking about my retirement,” added Beveridge.
Alice Ferris of Goalbusters Consulting confessed, “I actually have a lot of goals for 2011. I don’t call them ‘resolutions’ – I call them goals. Every December, I review goals from the previous year and look at, ‘What did I finish? What didn’t I finish? Why? What do I want my goals to be for the following year?’” Ferris then separates unfinished goals into two categories: goals that she can control, and goals that she can’t control. “This way, I can evaluate if I am blocking my own success,” she explained.
“I write up two lists – because if you don't write it down, it won’t happen, right?” she said with a smile. The first is a list of Big Goals, for which Ferris is proactive. The second list of Tolerations is “a laundry list of things that bug me. Things as simple as changing a roll of toilet paper,” laughed Ferris. Small tasks, usually overlooked because of major tasks at hand, nag until they become enough of a problem to do something about.
“When I do my weekly tasks, I identify a major goal that I can take an action step on and find one ‘Toleration’ task to complete for the week.”
“Value my own time,” is one of Ferris’s major goals for 2011. “Sometimes when you really want to help a client, you lower your fees and underestimate the time it will take to complete. I want to really evaluate and estimate the project appropriately. If I am going to continue to progress as a business, I need to do a better job at it.”
Lisa Acchione, owner of LMA Accounting Services, said giving back to the Northern Arizona community is on her list of to-dos for 2011. “My business New Year’s resolution is to hold free, monthly workshops open to any business in the area. My plan is to present accounting theory that will help businesspeople better manage their payroll, sales tax and profit/loss records.”
Acchione, who offers accounting services and QuickBooks setup and training to her clients, said that 2011 will be a year to give back to the community that has made her business so successful.
Cindy Payne of NAU’s Enrollment Management and Student Affairs office said, “My business New Year’s resolution is to ensure that at Northern Arizona University we are doing everything we can to provide the best service to students and their parents. As the State of Arizona continues to cut funding to higher education, students and their families have to bear more of the cost of education themselves.
“Arizona universities were once state-supported and now are merely state-located. Students are consumers of the university and we must partner with them to assist in their success at the institution. Through the training programs I offer and newsletters I write, I can make sure that the focus on exemplary service to students stays on everyone’s radar screen.”
Ed Goodwin of The Print Raven in Flagstaff said, “Our business resolution is to be much more aggressive in our marketing efforts in 2011. We want to give people more reasons to go to our website.” His website, by the way, is www.theprintraven.com. FBN
