It always amazes me how quickly we forget our ambitious new year‘s resolutions and slip back into our bad old ways. One minute we‘re promising to be three-times-a week-gymaholics; the next it‘s a takeaway in front of the television.

It‘s the same as the plans we make on holiday. What seems exciting and plausible under a tropical palm tree abruptly becomes ridiculous and hopelessly naive as soon as you get home to a cold house. Combine the new year break with a holiday, like I did this year, and the results are sky-high plans that have as much chance of surviving as a snowflake in hell.

Well, I‘m making a stand. I‘m clinging to the optimism of my new year promises and am following my plans through (the easy ones at least; I always knew my running schedule was doomed).

I promised myself that I was going to give my entire business an MOT. A medical examination to check out pulse and blood pressure of my entrepreneurial activities. I was going to look at every aspect of my business, particularly those that normally leave me cold.

Most of us keep an eye on as much as we can. But as businesses grow and we employ more people, there is less chance that we can know all that is happening. That‘s why I‘ve taken some time out to go get back to basics.

The first thing I looked at was my margins. My business purchases and resells over 150 products. That‘s a lot of products to keep and eye on and having been a salesman I know their little tricks.

Are the prices on the invoice the same as the ones they agreed? Sometimes not. Are they giving you a good price on the headline products, but clawing it back elsewhere? Probably. Have they passed on a price increase by sending an anonymous brown envelope to your accounts clerk rather than telling you face-to-face? More than likely.

So I personally renegotiated these deals. I played people off against each other and got what I wanted. It was great. I remembered how exciting it is to argue every penny and get blood from a stone.

My next resolution was to look at the people around me. I employ an immediate team of about 10. They‘re all good people but recently I‘d been worried about one particular individual. We discussed the problem and he decided to leave. It was the right thing for all of us. Although losing a member of the team is tough, it was another satisfying tick on my new year‘s to-do list. Now I‘m going to look at a rent review that‘s outstanding, a ratings appeal and an annoying legal wrangle that we‘ve got into with a service provider.

These are all things I would normally have put to the bottom of my pile. Getting on top of them rather than burying my head in the sand has empowered me. I feel enthused and in control of my business. I would even go as far as saying that I am sleeping sounder in my bed knowing that there are no hidden shadows harbouring things that might bite me.

I‘m urging all entrepreneurs to do the same. Make a late resolution to get to know your business again. Tackle the things that have previously turned you off or left you bored. Wise up and learn about what‘s really happening. You‘ll feel empowered. You‘ll save money. Above all, you‘ll be in a stronger position to push the business forward.

You may waste the cost of a gym membership this year and you may not run the marathon you promised yourself. But you can more than make up for all that by giving your business the once-over it almost certainly needs.