Wow. Another year has gone by. Maybe you achieved your goals from last year, maybe you didn’t. But if you want to make 2011 your best  year ever you have to commit to change and what better time to do it than the start of the year?

As Mahatma Gandhi once said  you need to “be the change you want to see in the world”. In other words, start living as if you’d already achieved the changes you want in your business.

To help you work out what changes you need to be thinking about in 2011, I’ve found 11 articles (for 2011!) which could really make a difference to your business.

With the first week after Christmas and New Year always being a bit of a lull, take the time to act on these recommendations. As what you do now will have a significant impact on what you achieve this year.

So, sit back, grab a coffee and notepad and enjoy the articles, please do let me know what you think in the comments below.

So this is what we’ve found this week…

1. How to Take Control of Your Physical Inbox by Michael Hyatt. As we rely more and more on email for communication, we often forget about our physical mail.  Michael suggests some tips for managing this post. However, if you don’t have an assistant, then I recommend that once or twice a week you open your mail and undertake the sort process yourself then spend the time and go through all the sifting process Micheal describes. To me this is variant of David Allen’s Getting Things Done, but it’s certainly a process that works.

2. John Spence clearly has an appetite for reading. More specifically reading business books. Since 1989 he’s read around 2000 business books  and he’s distilled the secrets of success down to a single formula.  This maybe over simplistic, but in my experience these factors certainly play a major role in your business success. The Formula for Business Success

3. Maren Kate suggests 11 Things Every Entrepreneur Should Do in 2011 and shares her own 2011 goals which  includes learning to dance like a fly girl…

4. Small Biz Trends features some great resources for those looking to start a virtual business – even if you’ve got a virtual business up and running there are probably some tools here, like how to create a website mock-up, that you might find useful. Small Business News: Your Virtual Business

5. Start-up nation lists 5 Must-Have Tech Tools for the Organized Entrepreneur whilst I’m sure many of these won’t be a surprise, it might be a useful reminder to get you to do your back-ups or maybe create a password manager. Whilst the post suggests using an idea catcher (great idea) it doesn’t actually suggest one – I personally use Evernote which is free and available for the iPhone and the Desktop.

6. Whilst it’s the end of the tax year for our US cousins, the UK tax year is only a couple of months away, so don’t get caught out and start planning for it now. Apart from some technical terms like IRA and SEP IRA these tips apply equally to our UK audience (and for that matter most places in the world) too. Last Minute Tax Steps for 2010

7. If you’re planning a start-up or big product launch this year, then you’ll be wanting to read this article by John Mariotti on the American Express Open Forum – if you ever wondered why business fail due to lack of cash, he explains why. Start planning your cash needs now. Don’t Underestimate the Cash-to-Cash Cycle

8. A month ago I went to a local chamber of commerce meeting on mobile marketing and have been planning to write an article on it, ever since, as I thought it was that important. With something like 5 billion mobiles in the world and an increasing larger % of them being smart phones, your traffic will start coming from mobile searches and not desktops. Are you ready for that?  How to Leverage the Mobile Tidal Wave for Your Business

9. Google has the mission of ‘dont be evil’, but according to the Business Growth Consultant on NicWindley.co.uk , Even Customers Can Be Evil. Here he explains that the customer isn’t always right and “sometimes he or she is a total and utter scoundrel that uses and abuses a situation for their own evil gains”.

10. Maren Kate recently admitted to feeling like she was having an affair, one with her business (not anyone else) and here she explains why you should have one with your business too. Why You Should be Madly in Love with Your Business

11. Some of you will be launching products this year and this invaluable article by Darren Rowse explains how you can boost your business post your product launch in  How to Increase Product Profitability After Launch. If you’re looking to make any sort of income from your site, you really want to be reading this.

So that’s what we’ve found and I really hope you find value in them, please do share your thoughts in the comments below.