With my sons’ school year just starting and tax deadlines approaching, my schedule has been pretty busy. But busy doesn’t have to mean chaotic. Since there are many balls to juggle, planning is absolutely essential...and I really invest a good amount of time and effort into proper planning.?
I use a checklist when conducting strategic planning for my business. That checklist is very helpful because it saves time and ensures that I don’t overlook important components of my goals. Here are some of the things that I recommend considering as you plan for Q4 and 2022.??
- Specify your objectives for the quarter and define what will ensure they happen: I’m sure you’ve heard of SMART goals before. Making sure the goals you set are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound is so important.
- Perform an evaluation of past performance: The best way to predict your future success is to let your past performance inform your strategy. Make a list of things that worked well and others that didn’t. From there, you can scale your strengths and improve on your weaknesses.
- Pinpoint the outstanding gaps in your service offerings and fill them: Every business has gaps in their services/products that can be modified. Trying out a different offering can be the best way to bring in new clients and diversify your revenue streams.?
- Leverage QuickBooks?: When it comes to automating your bookkeeping, QuickBooks? online is going to be your best friend. Using the budget feature in combination with actual performance reporting, you can determine the trajectory of your business, and use this to optimize your financial strategy. To learn how to use each QuickBooks? feature in its entirety, check out our QuickBooks? course The Simplified QuickBooks? Guide e-course which will help guide you through it.?
- Don’t give up: You’ve gotten this far, keep going. Remember all of the hard work you have put in up till this point and stay firm in your goals.?
- Continue upgrading: Even if you are satisfied with your current performance, it is important to not be complacent. Keep scaling up your operational processes and services because there are always ways to better your business.?
- Hire a Fractional CFO: Having a solid financial team is always a good investment. A fractional CFO can help you uncover waste and blockers in your numbers. Better yet, a Fractional CFO can help you strategize a plan for growth, expansion, a merger or acquisition, and your long-term goals. To schedule a consultation to learn more about FiBrick's Fractional CFO services, click here.?
The Fibrick team had a blast watching entrepreneurs from the first and second cohorts of the Smart Profits? Accelerator grow! So, we're back for round three! The cohort goes six weeks through a series of video lessons and live group coaching to help you transform your financial systems. We'll cover everything from your business financial strategy to practical how-tos on creating a solid financial structure for your business. The Smart Profits? Accelerator will start on October 11th, 2021. Learn more here.
