Giveaway: 7 Bad Business Habits to Break

** Congratulations to this month’s winner – Jessica F! **

At the end of 2010, I shared advice on “Setting Goals for 2011: 2010 Habits to Keep or Leave Behind.”  Looking back on 2011, I did a pretty good job of sticking to the habits that would keep me on the path to success.  Let’s see how I did.

Keep:

– Delegation and letting go.  While I did make good strides with this in 2011, I need to work harder at delegating tasks.  I no longer do everything myself, but good help can be hard to find.  🙂  I’m especially grateful for the other business owners who have so graciously submitted guest posts to the blog.  Your help has been invaluable!  By the way: I’m still looking for good interns and subcontractors, especially for online marketing. If you’re interested, drop me a line via the contact form.

– Networking.  This one has been good for me as I’ve reached out to several entrepreneurs online and offline.  Some of this was for collaboration on projects and other times it was just for a good “getting to know you” conversation.  Continued interaction and building relationships is still on my list for 2012.

– Taking action.  Last year, I launched the first part of my small business marketing series, booked speaking engagements and set plans in motion for more good things this year.  There’s no more waiting for plans to be perfect or things to be lined up all the right way.  It’s better to act on 80% of the plan than to have 100% of a plan and not act.

Leave Behind:

– Self-doubt and perfectionism. This ties in nicely to the taking action point from above.  No one is perfect. Feel the fear and keep pushing forward anyway.  I’ve worked hard to make this my daily reality.

– Workaholism. Uh…well…yeah…I’m still working on this one.  I love to check things off of my “to-do list,” but for some reason there is always more TO DO.  :-/  I’ve learned to relax and will take an actual vacation this year (not the usual stay-cation).  This is the #1 habit I plan to break this year.

– Disorganization. Between lists and file folders, I’m good on this habit.  I make sure to clean up the mail and paper clutter at least weekly.

This year, Rieva Lesonsky of GrowBiz Media shares the 7 bad business habits she believes that entrepreneurs will need to break in order to be successful in 2012.  These habits include such things as skimping on sleep (entrepreneurs actually sleep?), ignoring your cash flow and thinking short-term vs. long-term.

If you’re guilty of one or more of these negative habits, have you made plans to change them?  If not, I’m here to help.  Share with me the #1 bad business habit you want to break and how you plan to break it for a chance to win $100!

Rules of The Business on Main/Entrepreneur Resources “Break My Bad Business Habit” Contest

1. Post the bad business habit you want to break and how you plan to break it in the comments section of this post and on the MSN Business on Main article page.  To get to the comments section on Business on Main, navigate to the gray bar under the article.  Click on the current number of comments to expand the section and post away.

2. Identify your post on Business on Main with the words Entrepreneur Resources.

3. The winner will be selected by Entrepreneur Resources.

4. A valid email address must be included in the post here on Entrepreneur Resources (how else can I tell you if you win?).

Note: Prizes will be awarded in the form of a $100 Amazon.com gift card and will mailed out 4-6 weeks after winner notification.

Want an extra entry? Like the Inspired Media Facebook Fan Page, and post that you’re a fan in a new blog comment.

Want one more entry? Follow me on Twitter at @InspiredMedia1 and post that you’re a follower in a new blog comment.

One winner will be chosen use Random.Org.  Winners who I am unable to contact and who don’t claim their prize within 48 hours of being sent their “You’re a winner” email notification will forfeit his or her prize.  In the case of no winner due to a prize being forfeited, I will again use Random.org to choose an alternate winner.  This giveaway is limited to US residents who are 18 years old and above only.

Deadline:

You have until Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 11:59pm CST to comment and be entered for your chance to win a $100 Amazon.com gift card.  I will randomly pick one winner with random.org and announce it here on the Entrepreneur Resources blog on or shortly after February 1, 2012.

Disclaimer: My blog is a part of an online influencer network for Business on Main. I receive incentives to share my views on a monthly basis.  The opinions, however, are all mine.