It’s that time of year. The holidays. The end of the year. The end of many business owners’ fourth quarter. Quickly heading toward the new year. Understandably, you would think this is when many businesses slow down and possibly stop, with the exception of retail businesses, that is. With Christmas presents bought or still to buy, it would be easy for me to think that business owners have no money or budget left for extras and projects, and no time to focus on growing their business.
This couldn’t be further from the truth, at least not for the successful business owners. That’s not to say they don’t take time off to enjoy the holidays and spend time with their families, but it seems to be a common time of year when they have been reflecting on everything they haven’t gotten done this year, and they want to get a jump on it for the start of the New Year so they can come into the New Year swinging and ready to catapult their business growth.
I have 3 tips for you as the New Year approaches:
1. Don’t stop marketing your business just because you assume people are busy and have no money in December. Not true! People are reflecting on what they haven’t done this year in their life and in their business, and they find money for the things they want. If you’re a life or wellness coach, your ideal clients are starting to think about their New Year’s resolutions, how they’re going to deal with falling off their diets during the holidays, what they want to improve or change in the coming year, and they’ll need support, guidance and accountability. Provide the solution to their problems.
2. It’s not too late to add onto your fourth quarter income. It ain’t over ‘til it’s over. There’s still time before the end of the year to make some sales and get some contracts signed. Get cracking! Focus on those revenue-generating activities.
3. It’s the perfect time to invest in your business. Many are strategically investing in their business at the end of the year for tax purposes so they can get better tax deductions and refunds. Talk to your accountant to see how additional fourth quarter business-related purchases can benefit you come tax time.
The same as last year, I’ve had so many coaches and consultants contact me this month about different projects they want done and systems they want set up, particularly for a landing page package for their free gift so they can grow their email list, they’re ready to set up a new product or program, or they want to get their website done so prospects can find them online. This is great, I love getting these things set up and done so they can get their marketing plan implemented and running on schedule for the first of the year.
Once your systems are in order, I also have a Boost Your Online Visibility package to help you with that once you have the basics set up, and there are also in-depth strategy and consulting sessions to clear confusion or create a marketing plan.
I am always upgrading my education and skills in the industry, so I have chosen to invest in my business, once again. I signed up for a speaker training course for virtual assistants so I can better serve clients and potential clients who speak or want to get into speaking. I hadn’t planned it ahead of time and I hadn’t specifically budgeted for it, but the opportunity came along and I knew it would benefit both me and my clients, so I jumped on it.
Do I have the time to spend on it? Not really. I’m not sitting around doing nothing this time of year, like I half expected to be, but I’ll find the time. I only just started the course, so I’ll tell you more about this early in 2017, but if you’re a speaker or want to be a speaker, I’ll be better able to help you research and find gigs, pitch you, help you create a speaker kit, help you create a contract that you can have reviewed by your lawyer, help market your speaking services, and more. Feel free to reach out in the meantime if you have any questions.
Did you complete everything you had hoped to in 2016? Are your systems set up and is your marketing plan ready for you to leap into 2017? I have opened up a few spots in my calendar for a Complimentary Discovery Session before the end of the year and after the New Year if you want to chat about systems you need set up or what kind of marketing strategy you may need created. Click HERE to schedule a time.
