The fourth quarter has started – the final quarter of the year.  In this fourth-and-final quarter, there are four things you should do in your business to stay strong and successful.

Get Your Team Energized to Finish the Year Strong and Be Ready for 2022

With most of my clients, I am focusing on helping them have a solid Q3 close and a strong finish to 2021.  In the quarterly review meetings, we are looking at the numbers and ensuring that everyone understands the business’s vision and long-term strategy.  I find that, generally, everyone is 70% aligned. We use the opportunity to increase that percentage by having an in-depth discussion of the historical quarter’s results, and then looking at the rest of the year and going into 2022 to align the teams’ vision and long-term strategies. Knowing where you stand can give you motivation and energy for what needs to happen next.

Ensure a Solid Q3 Close

If you’ve established effective processes and routines, your accounting staff should be keeping up with the necessary tasks to ensure you have accurate numbers and information for future decisions. If not, focus on getting these procedures polished (checklists are a great help to this) and getting your staff on board with doing them well EVERY month.

Get Your Short-term Targets in Focus

What are you hoping to see happen in your business during the fourth quarter? Write these goals down, narrowing them to be realistic, measurable, and fitting for your team.

Start the Budget Process

2022 will be here soon so you’ll need to have your budget in place to ensure an effective transition. It may be a simple matter of copying and tweaking this year’s budget. Or, you may have to revamp if, for example, some areas of income didn’t match your expectations. Get input from your staff. Consider cost-cutting measures or redirection of funds to more effective endeavors such as product development or marketing for next year.

Bonus Task

I find it interesting the statistic that 98% of business owners don’t know how much their business is worth.  Their business is their most valuable asset, yet most have no idea of its value until they decide it’s time to sell. I know several owners currently looking to transition out and “retire,” but the offers they are receiving are substantially less than they anticipated.   

In addition, not knowing the current value of your business makes it harder to intentionally increase it over time with well-informed decisions.

I suggest all business owners do a business valuation every few years. If you haven’t done this, let’s arrange to do one now. Our valuation process is inexpensive and efficient and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how the information helps you as you head into 2022.