1. Do what you enjoy. After all, you own the business, so you get to decide what to do. "Many businesses flounder because owners force themselves to do work they really don't care for or are working with clients they don't like," said C.J. Hayden, author of Get Clients Now! "That's when everything becomes a struggle."

Don't be afraid to enter new territory or to let go of clients that you find difficult to work with. Seek out the work and clients you had in mind when you started the business. Customers take notice when you are enthusiastic about what you are doing.

2. Develop a business plan with specific goals. Most small business owners have a vision of where they want their business to go. But few create business or strategic plans that include actionable goals, complete with specific tasks and deadlines.

"Your goals need to be more than some vague statement about, for example, getting more exposure in the local media," Hayden said. "Break your goals down into small, multiple steps. Set a specific goal of, say, appearing in the local media at least once per quarter, with action steps of releasing a press release, writing a letter to the editor and cultivating relationships with local reporters by certain dates."

Once you've created your plan, don't file it away. Share it with your employees so that everyone knows their individual objectives and how they relate to the plan. Review your plan on a monthly or quarterly basis to make sure you achieve your goals.

3. Use a financial model for your business. Setting a goal for your desired income is important, but you need to know how you actually are going to get there. "If you don't sit down and crunch the numbers, you are setting yourself up for failure," Hayden said.

Create a financial model of your business to help you determine the hourly rate, the number of clients and the number of billable hours it will take to make it happen. And don't overestimate the number of hours you are capable of billing.

The average number of hours billed by corporate consultants is 22 hours per week, according to Hayden. For some small businesses, that number can be even smaller -- from 10 to 12 hours per week -- in which case you must make sure your hourly rate is high enough and you do more marketing to ensure a steady stream of clients.

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