Despite the gloom and doom which seems to surround us these days like a miasma that won't lift, small business owners are seeing their hard work and nose-to-the-grindstone efforts pay off in incremental new business.

Based upon a very unscientific poll, I can tell that my clients are succeeding thanks to the increased number of contracts that have come flying through my e-mail these past few months, usually accompanied by a terse note regarding the urgent need for immediate review.

All good news. Still, new business often means ramping up with additional or redeployed staff, as well as other resources needed to get the job done. Are you ready?

Some things to consider…

On the employee side, it's time to have an objective review of your workforce. Since the Fall of 2008, employers have had to shed human resources due to a lowered demand for their products or services. Remaining employees understood that their jobs depended upon hearing and absorbing the message.

As the demand tide shifts, however, small businesses can no longer depend on the "we're all in this together" recession strategy that had employees happily doing the jobs of two (or three) people. In the last quarter of another tough year, it might be time to assess the strategy you adopted three years ago and be sure that your human resources are up to the task of tackling new business.

Employees who have been doing two jobs for the price of one might be reaching burn-out right about now. Take the pulse of your employees and act accordingly.

On the financial resources side, have you reviewed your budget with growth possibilities in mind? We all know that it takes more resources to produce more business… but have you considered the need to revisit and perhaps adjust your 2011 budget accordingly?

Do you still have a line of credit available? If not and your business is growing, have you considered the need to establish one? Although credit is harder to come by these days, it is out there for the credit-worthy.

Are you in a position to produce multi-year, credible financial statements AND explain one or more bad years, along with presenting your plan for the new growth you see coming down the road? Businesses that think ahead, review their financials and meet with their accountants for an objective overview of how a lender will view their financial plans are much more likely to actually achieve that line of credit in this environment.

Proactive is far better than reactive when it comes to credit. The banking community as a whole is telling the small business community that they have money to lend to those who qualify. Are you one of those? If so, challenge your lender with a solid, well-documented presentation.

The message going into the last quarter of the year? Be prepared… review… adjust and seize every opportunity!

As you may know, I can think of no greater pleasure than picking up a good book [note, I did not say picking up a piece of plastic on which I can download sterile versions of printed words loosely called books!).

I have a list of authors… fiction and non-fiction… whose newest books are always on my list for immediate purchase. Of them, David McCullough is one of my all-time favorites.

The amount of research that McCullough invests in his books is impressive, yet his style of writing is so enjoyable, you would think you were reading a historical novel. In "The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris," McCullough has written about many recognizable illuminati in the fields of medicine, poetry, sculpture, painting, politics. Even better, he placed it in Paris, the City of Light!

As always with a McCullough book, though, I was in for an eye-opening surprise. Like most inward-looking Americans, I believed that we always lived in the center of the universe and that the world came to us. According to McCullough, however, beginning in the 1830s and continuing to almost 1900, John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt, Augustus Saint-Gaudens and others led the trek of American intelligentsia to Paris, eagerly seeking out what they considered the epicenter of culture, education, art and even politics.

When they returned to America — many of them having spent decades in the City of Light, absorbing knowledge and the art of living well from Parisians who welcomed them with open arms — they shared their bounty with American institutions of learning which expanded that knowledge tenfold.

These Americans helped to transform Paris and they were, in turn, transformed by it. And when they came home, they built on their knowledge and helped transform America.

Definitely, my favorite read this summer! (Click here to watch a brief interview with David McCullough, as he describes his reasons for writing the book!)

Widett and McCarthy specializes in advising small business owners in the area of contracts. Whether reviewing a contract for services with your customer, negotiating a lease with your landlord or finalizing financing documents with your lender, we make sure your best interests are protected.

In addition, and for those clients whose successful growth requires a more comprehensive relationship, we act as "general counsel:" On-call when you need us as a sounding board, legal advisor and strong right hand.