Here we are, the beginning of the last quarter of this year is here. It just sort of snuck up on me. Are you prepared for this last quarter? I have to admit, I really was not. Get started planning for the 4th Quarter today. When I look back on the 3rd quarter, I really did not get as much accomplished as I wanted. I was working my plan but I had a lot of life sequences get in my way, but that really is nothing new!
Last weekend, I looked back on the 3rd quarter and started planning for the 4th quarter of this year. I have to really step up on it if I want to reach my goal for the year! Have you looked back on the 3rd quarter and figured out what you really did accomplish and what you did not get done that you had in your plan?
Let's face it, we all want to have a business that we love! We all want to start each day with the feeling of I can't wait to get started today! Your business is a very serious venture and if you do not plan it out and work you plan, you are just running a hobby and you would be better off doing something else with your time unless of course this is the kind of life that you want! For me, I want to know what I am doing and what I need to do each day of my week and month. I wake up each morning with my plan in place and I know exactly what I have to get done that day and I do whatever I can to get it accomplished.
Does it always happen, No, but I sure do work at it hard enough and try to get it all accomplished? Without a written plan, I would not know what I had to get done by the end of this day, week, or this month in order to reach my goal.
Here Are 3 Tips To Help Get Started Planning For The 4th Quarter Easier!
- Set Your Goals!
Do not set goals too high that you cannot reach them and do not set them so low that they do not mean anything. Set your goals a little out of your reach so that you do have to stretch in order to reach them. Write down your Goals. I have found that if I commit to them on paper, not just on the computer, but actually writing them down they mean a lot more and I am more apt to follow through and reach my goals. You must create a plan for each one of your goals in order to be able to reach them.
- Reach Out for Help!
I used to create my plans in cycles of 60 days, but I have decided that I am going to start working in the 3 months quarters to reach my goals and get everything done that I want to be done at the end of this quarter. I have to reach out for help. I have hired someone else to help me and have given them instructions as to what I need to be done. When you are the main person in your business and the only one running it, trying to get everything done is impossible. There are tasks that you can hire out to take some of the big burdens off of your shoulders. This may be simply having someone come in and clean your home for you periodically. It may be someone that can run errands for you. Before my husband retired, I had someone do small errands for me each week, like going to the post office and making my bank deposits. This freed up a lot of time for me. I also have someone that does all of my bookkeeping for me.
I found that this was one of the areas that was really bogging me down. I have heard embroiderers say, as soon as I get enough money to hire someone I will, and it will be easier. This is the wrong way of thinking. Thinking like that will not be productive for you and you will find that that day will never come. You cannot get ahead and do everything yourself unless of course you are just starting out and you do not have much work. Once the work starts coming in, you cannot afford to try and do everything yourself because some of the other areas of your business will suffer when you are trying to get your embroidery work done.
- Find Out Where You Stand Financially!
Before I hired a bookkeeper, I was always behind with my books and before I knew it, the year was half gone and I had no idea where I was. I did not know if I was making a profit or losing money. I had a vague idea and I knew what was in my bank account, but it was very frustrating for me not to know where I stood.If you do not know where you are financially, it can really put your whole business in a tailspin and it is usually a downward spiral. You need to know where you are at all times so that you can make the proper adjustments to change whatever needs to be changed. You must also be willing to say NO! This is another area that is a hard one for most of us embroiderers! I know that is a hard one for me, but I have come to the conclusion that I cannot do it all, and what is not creating the most profit for me is gone! You need to know which area of your business is profitable and which area is not. This is the only way that you can realistically make the right course corrections.
Tomorrow I will show my Weekly Routine For Planning! It is very simple!