The 4 pillars of 4th quarter are four important tasks every business owner should complete in the last quarter of each year.

The fourth quarter is an exciting time in your business. It is time to get your head out of your day-to-day operations, look at the bigger picture, and plan for next year. You have three-quarters of results to review. What you learn from studying them will form the basis of your plan for next year.  

CONSIDERATION

“Honest self-reflection opens your mind to reprogramming, change, success, and freedom.” —Unknown

The first of the 4 pillars is asking yourself some critical questions about the last year.

Are you happy with how the year is going? You have been living in and working on your business for ten months. What went well, and what didn’t? When you reflect on what worked, take a minute, allow yourself to really feel that success.

What if you’re not happy with how things are going? This time of year is perfect for this kind of reflection. If you are not satisfied with your performance or industry knowledge, find a coach, upskilling opportunity, or certification program. Unsatisfied with your income? Time to review your new revenue-generating activity and see if you’re spending enough time on this critical task. 

Haven’t you met your goals for this year? There’s still time. It’s a myth that business shuts down at the end of the year. Plenty of business takes place in November and December, no matter what kind of business you have. Now is the time to press on the gas. 

PREPARATION

Ben Franklin said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” 

I am not sure I buy into Ben’s philosophy whole-heartedly, but I do appreciate good preparation as it creates confidence. Preparation is the second of the 4 pillars of 4th quarter.

• How you track, organize, and keep your receipts will be the most significant preparation you can make for you or your bookkeeper. I advocate you collect, organize, and store them in a better place than an empty shoebox. 
• A best practice is to save copies of your receipts electronically. Create a consistent naming protocol such as “vendor name>date>amount.” Store the paper in an accordion folder, sorted by month, for seven years. At year 8, it’s safe to toss. 
• Look over your Income Statement and Balance Sheet. Get familiar with these reports so you can use the information to support planning for next year. Ask for help if you don’t understand these reports.
• Investigate what services or products are selling well and which ones might not be profitable. 
• You have a budget, sure. But did you stick to it? Compare last year to this year and evaluate the areas that need an update. Did you spend more on office equipment for your home because of COVID-19? Did you give up physical space or acquire one for the first time? Budgets are living documents, so keep tabs on yours or ask someone to help you do that.   
• Review your marketing strategies. Which ones created new opportunities? Tie your investment back to any new clients brought to the business. Talk with your marketing support about new outlets like Tik Tok. Where do your clients live online?
• Client feedback is invaluable. Invite a trusted client whose business acumen you respect to coffee or lunch. Check-in with them and see what their view of your business is.  
• Ask for help if you need it. Getting help is my most important part of preparation. No one knows it all, and we all have resources if we acknowledge them. Let others help you.

PLANNING

“Plans are nothing; planning is everything,” Dwight D. Eisenhower. 

Every business needs a roadmap to guide decisions and keep you on track to reach your goals. It’s valuable to remember that plans change along the way, and that is fine. Flexibility is part of running a business, and the adjustments required by the Covid-19 virus is just the most recent example. In this, the 3rd of the 4 pillars of 4th quarter, is the time to put the plan together.  

• Focus on what you want to improve. If you want more clients next year, what are the steps you need to take? What investments would help you gain new business? Hire a business coach? Begin advertising? Join a networking group?  
• Review and revise your budget to reflect improvements and new goals. If you hire a business coach, how many new clients are needed, or what expenses can you trim to afford it? 
• Commit to new efficiency processes uncovered in the Consideration and Preparation phases. For example, if you’re going digital with all your paperwork, ask for receipts via email. If your business produces a lot of paper receipts, invest in a receipt scanner. For each printed receipt, be sure to note what the expense was right on the receipt and BEFORE it goes into the monthly sorter. You’ll forget if you wait too long.
• Decide on regular intervals to evaluate the new plan in 2021 and keep those dates with yourself. Identify the new markers for success or trouble in your business that you’ll review in those sessions.
• If you work with others, share your new plan and help everyone get on board. Be sure they know what they can do to support the business and its new goals.  
• Work the plan. I am a big believer in the power of visualization. Please spend some time each morning to visualize taking the steps in your plan and imagine the success it brings. The science says our brains can’t tell the difference between imagery and real-life action. When we visualize, we create a new neural pathway — those clusters of cells in our brain that work together to create memories or learned behaviors — this primes our subconscious to chose behaviors consistent with the outcome we imagined. This simple practice will keep you on track to innately take the actions you planned to increase success. 

REWARD

“Success is its own reward, but failure is a great teacher too, and not to be feared.” – Judge Sonia Sotomayor.

This is the final of the 4 pillars of 4th quarter and perhaps the most important. You started a business to do good things your way. You’ve been brave in the face of uncertainty, failures, disappointments. You stretched outside your comfort zone. You took risks, worked hard, and have a right to be proud of that.

No matter where you’re at in your business today, you choose the road less traveled, and you didn’t give up. Remember to make time to celebrate your victories big and small – and those valuable lessons learned from failure. 

Looking ahead to next year? Here’s what’s important about the first quarter of each year.

If this article brought up any issues in your business and you’d like to discuss in more depth, schedule a complimentary consultation. I’d be happy to spend 30 minutes helping you find some answers.