It’s time for a first quarter review. This might get uncomfortable, but discomfort is what will move you to make changes you need to make. I started to make a pretty chart and then I said, “stop, the madness!” Grab your planner, calendar, or whatever you look at to plan your days. At the beginning and end of each month, make note of your numbers.
First Quarter Review of Numbers
Now, your numbers will vary from business to business but here are some recommendations of numbers to make note of (literally, write it down) in no particular order:
- E-mail list subscribers
- Social media platform fans and followers
- Products and services
- Bank account
- Savings account
- Date nights
- Your weight, your height (smile)
The point of writing down the numbers is to get comfortable seeing them and doing a little basic math to see what has changed, what needs to change, or what’s doing just fine the way it is! The numbers can tell you a lot of things, like where you need help, where your efforts are falling flat, or simply where you are in your absolute brilliance zone. Don’t hide from the numbers. The numbers are very telling and if you keep ignoring them, things are going to get out of control and who wants to deal with the chaos?
One thing I have discovered in my business is the need to strengthen my writing skills. I love to read. I love to write. However, writing effectively for business takes a different set of skills and I’m happy to say upon my first quarter review, I am making progress in this area thanks to some dedicated training and business coaching. As part of my personal and business development for 2016, in 23-days, I get to attend the “Catch On Fire” National Association of Christian Women Entrepreneurs Annual LIVE Conference. The 2-day event features three speakers, hands-on writing, and communications sessions. Learn more about the conference by following this link: NACWE #CatchOnFire2016
I became a member of NACWE last summer following the “Be Brave Today Challenge,” and the association has been of more value than I ever dreamed possible. I found as an entrepreneur working alone from home can get lonely. You have this dream and you’re striving to build it, but your loved ones and close friends don’t get your passion, they can’t understand the driving force behind what you are doing. It doesn’t make them bad people by any means, but you need a tribe. You need to be around and exposed to like-minded people to keep the fire alive! You need to be around other women like you who “get it!” When the naysayers, haters, and those who simply don’t get it try to bring me down, I turn to the tribe and you can too!
As with anything in life, you get out what you put in. You can’t join a group, sit on the sidelines never participating and expect to get anything out of the group. Your own willingness to connect with other members will only enhance the experience of being in this sisterhood. I found another thing that often trips up an entrepreneur working alone from home is not knowing how to do things in business. Face it, you don’t know what you don’t know and Google and YouTube videos only get you so far. NACWE has an incredible vault of business knowledge called the Online Success Institute which allows you to learn specific things about business at your own pace, but you also have access to the private Facebook group forum where you can ask questions, spill your heart and touch base with others. There are monthly webinars about business topics based on the groups needs. If you haven’t found your tribe yet, I highly recommend NACWE as your next business investment.
As you conduct your first quarter review keep in mind there will be days when it’s hard, days when you feel like you can’t do another thing “Work it through with tenacity even when you do not feel like it.” It can happen; some days you may not feel like doing it! I want to encourage you and spur you on to action be it business or everyday living. You can attend all the conferences, seminars, training, and such in the world BUT until you take action on those things presented to you, your action of having attended is in vain.
Seek the Lord’s guidance in all that you do, be it personal or business, because it’s all connected. Even when you don’t feel like it, He watches over every single thing that you do. God is all knowing and all seeing, you can’t hide.
Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. Psalm 127:13
