Another quarter’s “in the books”! Rather than ask how you feel about it (“GREAT!” I hope!), I thought I’d share the process I go through to prepare for the new quarter.
At the end of each month/quarter, there are some planning/summary activities I like to do to ensure I’m on track:
- Run a Profit & Loss (we use QuickBooks Online) and enter those figures onto the Summary page of my Vision Board to Reality Planning Spreadsheet. Check and see if any of the expense numbers are unusual (too low/too high).
- Update my Money Tracker Spreadsheet for the new month’s goal revenue. (Download a copy here).
- Compare revenue numbers against previous quarters to identify increases, decreases, trends.
- Assess what went right/not as planned with previous month/quarter and how that affects new month/quarter.
- Clean my mental desk (brain dump) to ensure I have everything I need to consider when outlining the upcoming month/quarter.
- Enter goals into my Strategic Business & Marketing Calendar System for the current month. For new quarters, I need to pick which Focus Area I’ll be using/focusing on between the four.
- Tweak my marketing campaigns if needed based on previous bullets and enter milestones/objectives into my Calendar System.
While all the bullets are important, numbers 3 and 4 can really make a difference. They can tell you with actual proof, not just “feeling” what’s changing and what’s trending so you can adapt your goals, promotions and campaigns accordingly.
Give it a try! You’ll feel so much more empowered once you have this information. Promise!
Questions? Just jot them below. I’d be happy to answer them.