The challenges of 2011/12 have been more worrying than ever before. There are some real reasons for this. Italy and Spain are in preparation to sell debt amid concerns that Europe's fiscal crisis is infecting bigger economies, debt levels are more than 25% higher than the Great Depression and the US - well, we are all aware what is going on there.

For many small business owners, we are now down to the business end of the year. To make a dollar or for some, to survive another year.

While it has been tough and most small businesses can attest to this, those who are investing in their product and service offering, are fairing better than those who are saving every penny and hoping for a better day.

I am an optimist in every sense of the word. My glass is half full and there is a lot more left in the jug. But as I use positivity to spearhead my next steps, I am acutely aware that 'having all your ducks in a row' is paramount to not only surviving but growing your business and moving forward.

As a small business owner, there are many things to consider:

It may have only been recorded as a 5.3 magnitude tremor that rocked Melbourne last night, but the subsequent media exposure was phenomenal.

I was sitting outdoors at a Japanese restaurant when it happened and at first I thought my friend was moving the table with his legs. When it was clearly not him, we both looked on in amazement.

Then, a Japanese chef came racing out and asked us if we felt the earthquake. We both said yes, and I told her that I thought it was exciting, "My first earthquake".

That went down like a lead balloon. Of course, in Japan, earthquakes are very dangerous and has killed thousands of people - so in rememberence of that, being excited by it, may not be in seen in the best light. I remember when this happened in Japan. It was incredibly sad.

Moving on from that, the earthquake certainly was "trending" on all social media and within minutes there was a picture up on facebook with a table and four chairs. One had fallen over. I then saw that same image posted on at least 100 facebook accounts. The world of viral marketing.

Which leads us back to marketing.

Here are 5 tips on what small businesses can do to improve their marketing efforts in the next 12 months are:

Do you find yourself chasing your tail when it comes to marketing your business?

Businesses that do not engage in a strategic marketing plan, often find that they are chasing their tail. They fly by the seat of their pants and have no real sales and marketing strategy in place. Instead of being proactive, and placing key performance indicators behind each and every marketing investment, they generally go with 'gut instinct' or what is available at any given time.

Last night, I had the most awful dream, that a friend who has been unwell, was pushing himself to the limit and not letting himself get better, had a car crash. It felt so real. In the dream, I found him all mangled, and lifeless. After months in hospital, it was time for him to get out, but there was no-one to look after him, as he had literally no-one in his life. No-one knew what to do, and no-one felt it was their responsibility. I started to cry in my dream because I felt for him. Then, the tears streaming down my face woke me up. I was completely shakened. It felt so real. The pictures in my dream were so real. It took moments before I realised that it was just a bad dream.

It is that time of year again, whether you like it or not, that small business owners need to review how their business is going.

Is your business ontrack to achieving the goals that you set out for your business to achieve in 2012? Is your brand where it should be? Are your leads inbound or outbound? Is your sales team performing?

If the answer is "no" to any of these questions, then it's time to start figuring out what you can change today to alter your outcomes of tomorrow.

Before meeting a girlfriend for coffee today, I popped into a Bookstore to see if they had the book Sweet Revenge by Tom Bower - The Intimate Life of Simon Cowell.

A few months ago, I was walking in the park. Seagulls were flying around above me. It was a weird place for them to be as the park is situated at least 10 kilometres from the ocean.

As I looked up, I decided to capture the moment.

The seagulls flew off and I began to think...

It's time. We are ready. The curtains have been drawn. In 3 weeks, I will be living in America to follow my dream of building a global small business marketing firm.

It's summer over there and winter here in Australia, so the weather is definately a big plus. Cost of living is significantly less which means I can buy more shoes. There is a god after all ;-)

And... the business is ready. Most importantly, we have dotted all of our 'i's' and crossed all of our 't's'.

So, what's next?

Many entrepreneurs believe that if you embrace failure on your path to success, you will succeed. In fact, most successful entrepreneurs have failed many times, but the difference between them and the rest of the world is that they don't internalize failure - instead they embrace it.

Failure sometimes helps us better understand what we are trying to do and how we should go about it. It sets a clearer picture for the direction that we should head.

"I honestly think it is better to be a failure at something you love, than to be a success at something you hate." George Burns.

Is failure just part of the parcel? Do we need to fail in order to succeed? Bill Gates did. Michael Jordan did too.