In fact fear of launching that business idea or expanding into that new niche is probably exactly why you should do it. If you weren’t afraid, if there wasn’t risk or hurdles to overcome it probably wouldn’t be worth doing.

Do you think taking the first flight, going into space, climbing Everest for the first time or betting everything to open a business wasn’t scary for others? It is why they became famous for it. They had the courage to do what others didn’t or hadn’t tried.

If you want to build an enterprise that is going to grab attention and inspire others you are going to have to lead the charge.

So be afraid, embrace it, find solutions for the challenges and create an amazing business!

Whatever it is, what you really achieve or don’t will rely a lot on who you associate with during the upcoming holidays and throughout the next 12 months.

There are two parts to this equation.

The first is that who you associate with will influence your own actions and decisions. Will the people you spend time with inspire you to greater things, provide greater insight into challenges you face in your business and become valuable resources or will they drag you down, become distractions and prevent you from achieving your full potential?

The second part is the affect that the perception of you associate with has. This includes the business partners you choose, who you have dinner with or hang out with at happy hour and who your friends are on Facebook. You may not think your associations affect your performance or credibility and you may not share their same principals or style but it can affect your personal brand. It can either make you more attractive to do business with or make it a lot harder to win business and close sales.

So, as you take time to reflect during the holidays, make a list, check it twice and decide who you need to meet in 2012, and who you need some distance from.

As we move into a continuous stream of sales between now and the end of the year and many B2B organizations are feeling the pinch of the focus on retail it is the perfect time for small business owners to grab up deals for themselves. Brick and mortar companies can take advantage of all types of bargains, cutting their regular overhead to free up more cash for marketing or to take as profits. While even online businesses can push to negotiate better deals on the services they need from others looking for more Christmas shopping cash.

What should you be scooping up to help take your business to the next level in the New Year?

Even when it comes to personal gift shopping this year wise entrepreneurs may want to reassess their spending habits. 48% of the population surveyed said they planned to spend less this year according to Fox News. However, it isn’t necessarily how much you spend that is such a big deal but what you buy. Instead of splurging on junk and fad items just because it is the usual thing to do, what about investing in property which will grow in value or gifting something to your other half which will make their lives easier and in turn give you more time to focus on your business?

Everything you choose to do is either taking you closer to your goals or further from them. This includes everything from allowing yourself to be distracted by your inbox every 2 minutes to watching TV while you should be focusing on your screen to agreeing to unnecessary meetings. If you aren’t sure what to do when facing a decision whether it is deciding on your marketing for the month or whether to refund a customer instead of battling with them just ask yourself what will help you reach your real goals faster.

With the holidays coming up many entrepreneurs will find them battling with the need to take time off with family and friends. However, time off isn’t always a bad thing. Professional athletes know that pushing themselves too hard and not giving their bodies time to recover or getting injured will actually set them back further. The same goes for the mind of an entrepreneur. Take the time to recharge and if you must use it to do some networking if that makes you feel better but don’t feel guilty about unplugging for a few minutes.

1. More Time

There is no entrepreneur, no matter how efficient who doesn’t crave more time. While you may not be able to pull more time out of thin air or get a sweet deal on it at midnight on Black Friday you may be able to find a way to give them some more free time which they can use to focus on their businesses.

2. iPad2

No self-respecting entrepreneur should be seen without a great tablet in the New Year. They are perfect for getting more done and closing more deals which will of course give them more money to treat you during the holidays.

3. Coaching

Sense that the entrepreneur in your life is facing some hurdles with getting their business idea off the ground or could just do so much more to realize their full potential with a little extra help? When not give them the gift of business coaching for the New Year?

4. Smartphones

Winning in business today is all about being connected and becoming a social media champion. So whether your entrepreneur hasn’t invested in one for themselves yet or they need an upgrade you can’t go wrong with buying them the latest smartphone.

5. A Massage

Being so driven to achieve and accomplish entrepreneurs rarely give themselves time to kick back or be pampered nearly enough. Treat them to a massage or day at the spa and they will thank you endlessly for the rejuvenating effects it has on both them and their businesses.

6. Vanity Numbers

Vanity numbers pack many powerful benefits for small business owners but they also make great presents. Plus this way you know that you will always be able to reach them whether they are forging new deals in China or lounging on the beach in the Bahamas.

7. Gym Membership

Great entrepreneurs know that a healthy body and regular workouts equal a healthy mind and higher productivity. Unfortunately they still often suffer from feeling guilty about taking time out for the gym or struggle to make time for it.

8. A WordPress Makeover

Many entrepreneurs are frustrated with their current WordPress themes and know that if only they could improve them a little their businesses would really take off, so why not give the gift of endless returns and give them the cash they need to invest in a WordPress remodel.

Entreprenuers and small business owners should absolutely allow themselves sometime to enjoy the freedom that running their own enterprises should offer but sadly many simply aren’t set up to keep operations rolling unless they are constantly in the loop. If you can relate to this and as much as you would like to head of for some skiing or just take a couple days of quality time with the family you just can’t bear to tear yourself away due to the fear things will fall apart perhaps a restructure is in order. Maybe one of your top priorities between now and the New Year should be to get with a great coach and assess how you can reorganize so that this time next year you can be confident in your business running smoothly while you jet off for a month of well deserved rest and relaxation.

In the meantime look at some of the tools which you can implement immediately in order to realize more freedom and enhance your operations. This includes things like toll free numbers which can not only help your organization stand out from the competition during this critical time but which can be used for ensuring seamless communications no matter what the season throws at you. Using the latest call forwarding and routing options you can stay connected wherever you travel without missing a beat and be prepared to switch incoming calls to new phone agents at a moment’s notice so there is never a risk of downtime.

If you haven’t begun outsourcing yet then this is the perfect opportunity. Experiment with a virtual assistant to help you get more down and to cover for you while you are taking a few hours off. Then keep a few remote workers on call to pick up the slack if you are over whelmed with orders or another staff member falls sick. Note this is also a great way to keep operations rolling when team members request time off for the holidays without having to be the orge and deny them or let things grind to a halt.

Finally, don’t forget to make your team feel appreciated and valued during the holidays it will go a long way to keeping up productivity this year and keeping them around until next year despite attempts by your competitors to lure them away.

Of course if your business typically benefits from the Christmas shopping fest then there is no question that it can be the perfect time to kick off a new venture if you want to start with a bang. However, even for other service businesses for which you might imagine consumers or business prospects will be too busy to pay attention to at this time of the year, getting started now has many advantages.

Getting your brand off the ground now and launching your social media during this extra social season will give your business the chance to build up a good following before your prospects really begin hunting for your product or service again after the new year. Plus you could be perfectly timing your launch and initial marketing initiatives to coincide with year end bonuses,  tax season and the mass of individuals flush with cash as we move into 2012.

However, experienced entrepreneurs also know that this is the perfect time to out shine the competition and lock into higher revenues for the coming year. So what should you be doing?

Small business owners should anticipate being put off and getting told that no new business will be done until after the beginning of the year but this doesn’t mean you can’t lay the ground work to swipe up large chunks of market share and grab new accounts. Book solid appointments and take advanced orders for after the first.

Even if you, as the owner plan to take time off make sure you keep your organization operating. Be one of the few in your field to provide good and consistent service when others are slacking, hit those customers who are obviously in need of extra assistance but remember not to burn your staff out completely.

Finally, recognize that there is no better time of year to build personal relationships that can withstand price competition and attempts to poach your clients. In addition to the usual adult get-togethers, dinner and cocktail parties consider family events and giving game tickets to prized clients that will ingrain you and your brand in their memories.

While super sized organizations with huge ad budgets and political connections may be able to continue to shape the way people think and perceive to some extent small businesses will undoubtedly have the upper hand in the next few years for a number of reasons.

For a start small businesses are far better positioned to pivot in order to take advantage of new opportunities and jump on emerging trends. We may have already seen some dramatic changes in the business world over the last few years but with the speed at which new technology is developing we are likely to see many more in the next 5 years.

Perhaps the biggest advantage that small businesses command in the era of the consumer is that they are closer to the consumer and better understand what they want. Too many top level CEOs at giant conglomerations are so sheltered from reality and what is going on in the trenches that they are simply not equipped to make truly educated decisions.

While big business may still be able to command control of Superbowl ads, telemarketing and TV commercials these marketing methods are fast becoming obsolete. The equalizer comes in the form of social media which allows entrepreneurs and small businesses to reach every Internet user on the planet for virtually the same amount as big companies. However, smaller companies are not weighed down or held back by huge legal departments and policies which hinder larger competitors from being effective in social forums and prevent them from making that personal connection that social media is all about.

Last but not least, as the economy improves and hiring picks up smart entrepreneurs will be able to get the jump on larger competitors weighed down with slow HR departments and will be able to lock down the best talent and provide them with working environments and perks that will make them stay.

However, on a personal level the real question here is not who will make the most money but whether individuals want to gamble on a corporate job with an organization that is no more solid that a house of cards or take control of their own destiny and financial future by starting their own enterprises?

Crafting a winning marketing plan for the New Year is about far more than just creating a budget for general advertising channels and forecasting returns and cash flow needs. An effective marketing plan that will trump the competition and realize the maximum ROI means taking into account the varying cycles and trends that will determine advertising effectiveness as well as the creation of a well-defined step by step action plan.

Beyond the macroeconomic business cycles which have made themselves so evident today, every industry has its own cycles that need to be accounted for as well as seasonal trends and special events like the November Presidential Election which can also mean anomalies which can help or hurt. Planning for these factors is even more essential for new business owners who may not have experienced them first hand yet. Entrepreneurs with new enterprises need to know when the busiest times of year will be for them in terms of sales and weight their budgets accordingly in order to see the maximum returns on their budgets.

2012 more than any other year so far will bring more advances in technology and how consumers will interact with brands resulting in a widening divide between those who are on top of them and those still chained to out of date marketing methods. Moving forward mobile marketing and content marketing will become more important as will utilizing the most advanced cloud computing solutions and communication tools.

Knowing what marketing campaigns and channels you will be using in February, November and December next year now will enable organizations to begin hiring the right people, laying out design, brainstorming slogans and even testing so that when the time comes no mistakes will be made due to rushing and maximum advertising effectiveness can be achieved.

Business owners should be taking the time now to formulate a step by step action plan, working backwards in order to accurately assess what needs to be done when in order to stay on track. Those who are really serious about staying ahead of the competition will be strategizing ways to throw off the competition, distract them and make catching up more expensive so that their true target market segments are open and easily dominated.