October hits and most entrepreneurs immediately start asking: what do I need to sell? What should I launch? How much revenue do I need? What haven’t I accomplished yet? And suddenly we’re trying to cram twelve months of unmet expectations into the final twelve weeks of the year.
That’s not what I mean when I call Q4 my Super Bowl quarter. Before I plan what’s next, I review what actually happened. I’ve done this for almost three decades, and I want to take you through the process I call my Path to Profits quarterly review, and the five conversations I believe every business owner needs to have before building their next ninety day plan.
Because unfinished does not automatically mean important.
Listen to the Episode
Episode Timestamps
- 00:37 Why Q4 is my Super Bowl quarter, and why I review before I plan
- 04:03 Conversation one: checking in with myself before I look at a single number
- 06:00 Conversation two: looking at my market, clients, marketing, and networking
- 10:02 Conversation three: finding the real friction and the constraint behind it
- 12:12 Conversation four: the money, profit, breakeven, and personal lifestyle costs
- 17:42 Conversation five: telling the truth about what worked and what didn’t
- 19:43 Why unfinished does not automatically mean important
- 20:16 Getting to the one decision that could change the next ninety days
- 23:15 Deciding what I’m not going to do, and the promises I make to myself
Key Takeaways
Start With Yourself, Not The Numbers
Before I look at the numbers, I start with me. There’s a human being running this business, and how that human being is doing today actually matters. I ask myself if I’m further along than last quarter, how I’m managing my time, and what’s distracting me. Sometimes the problem isn’t that we need a new strategy. Sometimes we’re simply not giving the strategy we already have enough attention.
Trace Your Business Backward To Find What’s Actually Working
I look at whether I grew my client base, added new prospects, got referrals, and whether my marketing actually reflects who I am and what I’m doing today, not what I used to be known for. Not every networking event is creating relationships, and not every marketing strategy is producing leads. I trace the business backward to find out what was the key lead generator this last quarter, not what I thought would generate leads, but what actually did.
The Problem You See First Isn’t Always The Real Constraint
You might think you need more sales, but the real problem might be weak margins. You might think you need more people, but the real problem might be unclear ownership among the people you have. You might think you need more time, but the truth is you’re still doing work that should have moved off your plate months ago. Your next ninety days do not need another strategy. They need a decision.
Revenue Tells One Story, Profit Tells Another
You can have your highest revenue quarter and still have a profitability problem. You can make more money and somehow still have less cash. I want you to know your net profit, your breakeven number, how much debt the business is carrying, and what your personal lifestyle actually requires right now, because that changes quarter to quarter. The goal isn’t simply to build a business that produces more. The goal is to build a business that is profitable in support of your life, not at the expense of it.
Get Down To One Decision
What is the one decision that could materially change the next ninety days? Not seventeen goals, not a color coded planner filled with forty-seven initiatives. Vague goals create vague execution. Specific decisions create movement. And every real priority has a trade off: if everything is a priority, then nothing is.
Unfinished does not automatically mean important.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know what’s really causing the biggest problem in my business right now?
I ask myself what’s creating the most friction in my business right now, and then I go one layer deeper and ask what decision is behind that friction. The issue I see first isn’t always the actual constraint. I might think I need more sales when the real problem is weak margins, or think I need more people when the real problem is unclear ownership.
How do I decide what to carry forward into the next quarter versus let go of?
When I see something that didn’t get done, I don’t automatically carry it into the next quarter. I ask myself if I still want to do it, because maybe the business evolved or the market changed and the old goal is no longer relevant. Unfinished does not automatically mean important.
Why can my revenue be up but my cash still feel tight?
You can have your highest revenue quarter and still have a profitability problem. You can make more money and somehow still have less cash if you’ve been on a spending spree, because you can grow sales and grow expenses even faster. Revenue tells one story, but profit and cash flow each tell a different one.
How do I pick what to focus on instead of trying to do everything this quarter?
I ask myself what is the one decision that could materially change the next ninety days, not twenty decisions or a planner full of initiatives. Vague goals like ‘improve profitability’ create vague execution, but a specific decision like raising pricing on a core service creates movement. Every real priority has a trade off, so I also decide what I’m not going to do this quarter.
Connect with Michelle
If this helped you, share it with someone who needs borrowed belief today. Grab my 31-Point Path to Profits Quarterly Review and run yourself through this same process before you plan your Q4.
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Clarity. Cash Flow. Freedom.