Q4 can be one of the busiest and most challenging quarters for business leaders. It is a time when businesses rush to close out expenses, plan for year-end initiatives, coordinate holiday PTO, and execute marketing campaigns. However, it is also an excellent time to conduct some “business housekeeping” and check on annual goals that haven’t been achieved.
To guide businesses through this process, eight members of the Young Entrepreneur Council share their year-end checklist item. Jessica Fialkovich, the founder of Exit Factor, stresses the importance of conducting a full financial review quarterly to identify unnecessary expenses, eliminate expense creep over time, and increase profit margins.
Nic DeAngelo, the founder of We Buy Loans Fast, suggests expressing gratitude through personalized communication with team members and investors to form long-lasting relationships.
Trivinia Barber, the CEO of PriorityVA, advises scheduling team evaluations to ensure that the right people are in the right seats, ready to hit the ground running in the new year. Matthew Capala, the founder of Alphametic, reminds businesses to conduct software audits to identify and eliminate underutilized software.
Blair Williams, the founder of MemberPress, emphasizes the importance of creating a holiday marketing campaign during Q4 to increase visibility and reach out to target audiences. Syed Balkhi, the founder of WPBeginner, emphasizes creating a budget to ensure that businesses are not overspending and have the resources needed to achieve their goals.
Blair Thomas, the co-founder of eMerchantBroker, emphasizes the importance of planning for company culture by brainstorming employee gift ideas and setting aside time for holiday gift-giving and bonuses.
Finally, Jared Atchison, the co-founder of WPForms, suggests reflecting on wins from previous quarters and focusing on the lessons learnt to either change their strategy to end the year with a bang or keep at it if everything is going as planned. Through these tips, businesses can navigate Q4 smoothly, achieve their annual goals, and set themselves up for success for the upcoming year.
