How to Plan 4th Quarter Goals for your Web Design Business
The year sneaks up quickly, before you know it summer is gone. Those lofty new year goals are still dancing in the back of your mind but with only a few months remaining, are they even possible?
Let’s jump into how to make the most of your fourth quarter so you can end the year on a high.
Level Set
Before you begin to stress about the little time remaining and the big goals you had 7+ months ago, let’s pause.
In the U.S. we have 50-60 working days in the fourth quarter depending on how many holidays you take. These holidays come with their own distractions which may impact your working time.
With all of this in mind, lay out the following:
Client Projects: Current status and estimated timeline
Time off: What days will you be working? How many of those will be in an unfamiliar location or with distractions (kids home or extended family around)?
Business goals: Order them in priority of most to least important for you to achieve.
Goal Review
After ordering goals in order of importance, consider if you’re still interested in achieving them. Our priorities shift and business changes so your goals may need to as well. Remove any goals that are no longer aligned.
With the top 2-3 goals, outline what milestones will be markers to achieve them. Then break down the work further into tasks along with how long each one will take to finish (30 minutes, 1 hour, more?). Now you can see the total commitment each will take and can decide what is possible within your schedule.
Scheduling Time
I find it helpful to look at a 3-month calendar and start by blocking off the holidays and/or any days you don’t want to work. These may be weekends, family time, or traveling. Once you’ve blocked non-negotiable days, you can see what’s left.
Start by outlining where your client projects start and end. Then outline where you’ll work on goal-related tasks. Keep an eye on the estimated time to complete the work. You’ll be surprised to find how quickly a day fills up. Holiday weeks or times you plan to travel should be kept light. There are a multitude of unexpected surprises that could disrupt your work day during this time.
This is an extra stressful time of year for most people. Adding too much to your plate won’t help alleviate that stress. It’s best to give yourself some extra time rather than add on more than you can handle.
Extra Year-End Considerations
There are a few year-end wrap-up activities you may want to add to your list. I know you’re probably already stressing about how much is on the list already but I wouldn’t want this to sneak up on you.
I suggest blocking a day or two in December to go through these areas within your business:
Reviewing financials: What does the past year look like for revenue, expenses, and profit? Begin budget estimations for the next year. Bonus - this work will help you get a head start come tax time.
Planning high level for 2025: Begin thinking through all the ideas you have for the next year. You don’t need to get specific but lean into your CEO Visionary self to begin drafting plans.
Detailed planning for January: If you wait until January to plan January, not much will get done. Think about what you want to accomplish in January and outline anything you need to do now, to make that happen.
CEO Annual Review: Set aside a day to be the CEO you are. Even if you don’t like this term, it’s time to step out of the weeds and think about the big picture. Within the Marketing, Sales, and Operations of your business: what were your monthly, quarterly, and yearly numbers? What type of change do you want to see for the next year?
Strategy: After you have your big picture thoughts, what strategy will you be using within each segment to reach those numbers. This isn’t as specific as “post on Instagram 3x per week”. You should be thinking about where you saw the biggest ROI and how you’ll lean into that more and what segments you may step away from that didn’t perform as you’d like.
Summary
Identify remaining goals for the rest of the year
Block non-negotiable time in your calendar
Layout work by week
Give yourself time to work on the big-picture items
Block time for rest
If you’d like support with this process, head over to my Services page. The SOS Group Membership might be the perfect fit.
