175: Ending the Year Well for Your Design Business
175: Ending the Year Well for Your Design Business
with Michele Williams
Can we just talk for a few minutes about what it means to end the year well? Does it mean to have every job go our way? Does it mean to make more money than ever? Does it mean to barely get through it but still be standing? On today’s podcast we are going to chat about ending the year well – defining that – and using the little time we have left to do it.
Topics Mentioned:
Define well for your company
Plan in advance
Be intentional
Rest and reset
Listen to the Episode
In my monthly newsletters, all the way back in September, I started sharing with my readers how to end the year well. And while at that time we had an entire quarter of the year to do it – the steps are still helpful.
What does it mean to finish well? We probably each have our own definition, and here is mine:
Finishing well means to complete the items that were critical. This also leads me to define what critical to my business means.
Finishing well means to complete the critical items in the best way my team and I know how. Never sloppy. Never half done. Fully done, and fully done in a way that makes us all proud.
Finishing well means to be proud of the effort that was put in to these critical items knowing that they set us up for a better future.
Ending well for you if you have come through a challenging year or project, could be to just be done with it – pure survival. For someone else it might mean the highest revenues ever. For someone listening it could be a steady paycheck for you. Ending your year well is not a competition. It is defining what you have accomplished and making note of the perseverance that it took to get to the end. Give yourself a round of applause or a standing ovation if you need it. You are here – almost done with 2021 – and let’s define “well” by our attitude regarding the year we just went through.
In October I suggested doing the following. Some of this you will be able to accomplish now with even more clarity – and some of it you may need to schedule to be done at the beginning of 2022.
Take stock of where the company is right now and where you anticipate it being at the end of the year with regards to financials. This means, total revenue, all COGS that are associated with that revenue, gross profit amounts and margins, expenses and what you plan to end the year with in net profits.
Meet with your accountant to ensure you are on top of taxes, paying yourself correctly (keep in mind the balance of salary and distributions if you are an S-Corp), contributing to your 401-K, and that everything looks correct.
Look at your team. What skillsets are you excelling at and where are you lacking?
Consider your clients. Who is still a great fit and you want to continue working with them into the next year? Who is no longer a fit?
How are you managing to the goals you set at the beginning of the year? What is left to be done? Can you accomplish it? What will it take?
Do you need to update your strategic 3-5 year plan? If so, do it.
Later in the month we took a look at our marketing. We asked the big question: is our marketing on point and were any quick changes needed to fill the pipeline going into 2022. As we reviewed our marketing strategy I suggested a few questions to consider.
Do you have any metrics around your marketing?
Do you measure what it costs you to post on Instagram or Facebook or Pinterest?
How much time and how many resources are needed to fulfill your marketing strategy? Give it a number.
Look at the leads coming from those sources. Are you spending your time, efforts and energy in the best place to get the clients you love working with?
Where might you spend more? Less?
It is always a great time to dial in your marketing strategy – meaning: Messaging, Branding, Channel – are you saying what your ideal client needs to hear and are you saying it in a way they understand and that resonates with them – and are you saying it where they are reading it?
If you are dialed in – keep going. If not, plan for 2022 to change it up a bit.
I then started November with even more detail on ending well. Here are the items that were on that list.
Detail out the work you have left to do.
Identify who is going to do it.
Share any “bad” news early – don’t wait.
Be honest about what can be done and by when.
Create boundaries around your time.
Communicate more than you think you need to.
Stay steady. Sometimes the hardest part is that - staying steady.
As we moved into December, my goal was to rest and reset. Because we started the hard work of looking at our company back in September if you were following along with me.
Here are some of my hard fought lessons I will share with you to help you rest and reset.
Don’t plan to get a lot done that week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. We all do it – think that is a free week to work without interruption. But what I find, and I bet you do too, is that you are so exhausted from the rest of the year that you completely veg out and want to do nothing but be with friends and family. And to move at a snail’s pace. Give yourself permission to do this – everyone else is. We are exactly here – right now. So even with all this I am sharing – pace yourself.
Be clear on what you have to have done by year end. Only the absolutely necessary. We have two weeks left – and you might have some family obligations during this time.
Know what is most important to you – and preserve it.
Keep notes for anything you want to do next year – you can come back to it the first week in January.
Read the book you have been putting off.
Take the nap.
Play the games with your kids or friends.
Enjoy your time. Work will wait.
As you can see, ending well also takes advance thought and planning. It requires intentionality. My coaching does not give you a blueprint and tell you to execute. That is not my style. I prefer to show you how to attack a challenge, how to strategically think through it, how to create a pathway that feels right for you – then the critical thinking skills of working it out as it shifts and morphs.
My emails and newsletters are meant to equip you and give you bite sized pieces of information to move forward. If you want to sign up – you can click the link in the show notes or go to my website at www.scarletthreadconsulting.com and submit your email at the bottom of the main page of my website. I would love to share these thoughts, tips and encouragement as you build your business. Just another way to not feel so alone – and to have a list of what to do next.
Building in process can’t be done all at once – it is better to go through it a step at a time. And healthy processes build healthy businesses – and those are the profitable ones. Reach out if you want assistance to build the strategy and the processes around the people, systems and money in your company. Invest to build profits – because profit doesn’t happen by accident.
Key Thoughts:
Finishing well means to complete the critical items in the best way my team and I know how. Never sloppy. Never half done. Fully done, and fully done in a way that makes us all proud. Michele (2:06)
It is always a great time to dial in your marketing strategy – meaning: Messaging, Branding, Channel – are you saying what your ideal client needs to hear and are you saying it in a way they understand and that resonates with them – and are you saying it where they are reading it? Michele (6:00)
Stay steady. Sometimes the hardest part is that - staying steady. Michele (7:02)
Know what is most important to you – and preserve it. Michele (8:49)
Contact Michele:
Facebook: Scarlet Thread Consulting
Instagram: @ScarletThreadATL
Website: ScarletThreadConsulting.com
LinkedIn: Michele Williams
References and Resources:
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