This time of year is always interesting to me.  It seems like the list of things to do is endless in my personal life, but also very lengthy in my professional life as well.  I refer to this year end, beginning of year list as a tune-up.  To keep things running smoothly we all need to have a tune- up!  Here are a few items on my personal tune-up list (maybe you have one that looks similar):

* Change out all of the batteries on home fire/smoke alarms

* Replace furnace air filter and have at least one back up on hand

* Lube & oil the garage door so that it’s not so noisy and continues to work for us for years to come

* Evaluate family portfolio and make sure to rebalance funds/stocks if necessary

PearlofAfrica suggests that taking dancing lessons, and going a minimum of 21 days without one complaint should be part of everyones personal list for the new year.  I’ve taken dance lessons, but haven’t done the other. 

Here’s a few off my business tune-up list:

* Organize files and begin pulling all details together for 2009 taxes

* Evaluate all expense aspects of our business to ensure things are in line for 2010.  This includes Wireless service, computer hardware and software needs, insurance, payroll, etc…

* Goals for 2010, What will we target monthly as targets?  What strategies will we take on to accomplish our goals?  

These are just a few things that I’ve been thinking hard about over the last 2-3 weeks.  Getting things tuned-up for the coming year is critical for most business owners.  When’s the last time you had a “carrier agnostic” telecom professional provide you a free tune up on your voice and data service? 

There are many groups out there today that charge for a telecom tune-up, but I’ve found that it’s not necessary to pay additional for this service.  If you can find an individual or an agency that is “carrier agnostic” they can look at your existing set up for local, long distance, wireless, Internet, WAN and all other billable telecom expenses in an un-biased way to provide you solutions for reducing your total cost.  Why hire a consultant to run some “fancy smancy” software program then pay them 50% of your savings for six months when you can work with an agency that’s just as qualified to look at your existing billings and make recommendations to you for free.  If you work with a representative from just one of the carriers your only getting solutions from a single carrier – only one piece of the pie.  Most of the “carrier agnostic” agencies don’t charge for their advice, they get paid by the carriers they represent when they place new orders for services. 

If you had your druthers, would you rather have a part-time individual at H&R Block run your tax numbers through a computer, or have a Certified Public Accountant at Wilson Downing Group LLC go through your return line by line?  Times are still tough for many business owners - if you can get better service and a greater return by working with a “carrier agnostic” agency, you should get your tune up today!