There’s no better time for a gut check than Halloween, when guts are socially acceptable to check.
So in honor of the holiday, let’s go over a couple of good reasons to schedule a business review for this time of year. It’s time to dig out your financials, take a closer look at how your business is running and talk to employees to see what’s going down on the ground level. It matters, but as I said, there’s one reason it especially matters now.
The End Is Coming!
Before you know it, we’re going to be making the shift to 2012. You’re likely gearing up for the first quarter even as I write this, but it’s folly to get ready for a new year without understanding where you are in the current one.
That’s a compelling reason to figure out where you are. Are your sales trending up in October? Do you traditionally finish the year strong, or do you suffer a slight drop in November and December? Do you have a plan in place for the swarm of sickly employees likely to call out over the next couple of months? Is there a way to ramp up next year’s strategies in the current calendar year?
All these are questions worth asking. Arm yourself with the information that only a review of your small business can give you.
The Holidays Are Coming Fast
Another corollary to this: You want to get your look at your business started before the holidays hit. I’m not a doctor of statistics, but I’d guess most businesses see at least a 10-20% dip in productivity near Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s just human nature to ease off the throttle when the big holidays are coming.
The sooner you get everything together, the sooner you can implement your plan for the rest of the year and next year. If you wait until the last second to start your planning, you’ll be dealing with holiday-induced apathy on top of the many demands on your time.
Are you planning to take a closer look at your business in the weeks ahead? Sound off!
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