Originally Posted 7/29/22

If you are among the many people in the world who think the best and probably only time to set or adjust your goals is late December and early January, I challenge you to open your mind to the quarterly goal review and adjustment. Here we are in the 3rd quarter of 2022, and now is a great time to revisit and possibly set new goals for your small business. The year isn’t over, and changing some processes or adding new goals for your business can potentially grow your business into the end of the year.

I like to review and edit my goals every quarter. This idea was given to me by Michael Hyatt and his Full Focus Planner. I have discussed this planner extensively; you can check out my blog post and YouTube video here. This planner is a quarterly goal-focused planner; it assists in taking you from goal setting to implementing throughout the quarter and the year. I would highly recommend you check it out.

Reviewing and adjusting your goals every quarter allows you to tweak what's working and what's not. For example, I get all gung-ho and set a dozen goals at the beginning of every year. Like most people, I rarely achieve any one of these goals. Can you have 12 goals a year? Sure, but they shouldn’t all take a year to accomplish. The quarterly goal setting and reviewing allows me to set some goals that will take twelve months and others that will take one month or one quarter to accomplish. I have found this process allows me to achieve many more goals that I have set than in the past. Let's talk about the goals you can set in the third quarter. Commercient, an ERP integration for CRMS, wrote a great article on this topic. “ 5 Goals Every Small Business should Set in Quarter 3.” I loved their tips, and I think if you don’t already apply some of these principles and processes, this list will be incredibly helpful. Let's get into it.

Goal #1: Boost Productivity in Your Business:

This is a perfect 3rd quarter goal. You have the unique opportunity to reflect on the first two quarters and see where you lack productivity. The article suggests that to help with this, you employ the assistance of productivity apps. Some include bookkeeping apps like Quick Books, Xero, or FreshBooks. I would suggest Notary Assist as an incredibly user-friendly and notary-specific bookkeeping service if you are Notary like I am. As a user of QuickBooks myself, I can’t tell you how much of a time and lifesaver it is to have on-the-go access to my books. That means I can work on my books or address my mileage tracker when I have downtime, no matter where I am. (That's a perk of the QuickBooks app, and I believe FreshBooks also.) They also suggest project management tools like Asana, Slack, and Trello. These productivity apps are very helpful, especially when you have a team.

Goal #2: Listen to Your Customers More:

If you are running any type of business, then you most likely have and need customers. This goal suggestion is great as it gives you a perspective from those to whom you are selling or providing a service. There are many ways to do this. How I do it is when I have worked with a client, I always ask them to leave me a review on google. I don’t direct their review, but I have yet to get a bad one. These reviews say many of the same things about my personality, professionalism, and customer service. It gives me clear marching orders on what to continue doing and even do better. You can talk to your customers on social media, offer live Q&A events, and more. We are in an age of easy communication. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel; just take advantage of what everyone else is doing and your customers' platforms.

Goal #3: Reduce Business Costs:

I don’t know of one small business that wouldn’t benefit from this goal. With all of the technology we have at our fingertips, this should be something that is not hard to do. If you employ CRMS (Customer Relation Management), and user-friendly bookkeeping apps, there are staff members you won’t need. The article mentions money-saving things like Web conferencing tools, remote desktop applications, and online payment services. It's also a good time to go through your expenses and remove the ones you don’t need or use or can find at a better price. There are steps you can take to hit this goal quickly.

Goal #4: Find New Opportunities For Networking:

If you aren’t aware yet, networking is crucial to a successful business. I wrote about networking in this blog post. If you aren’t currently networking, making that a quarter 3 goal is vital. The Commercient article gives some amazing ideas on where to start with your networking goals. They tell you to; “Try to attend more conferences, workshops, seminars, and meetings, and ramp up your online networking on platforms like LinkedIn” I would also recommend joining your local Chamber office and getting involved. Host a mixer, go to a mixer, go to ribbon cuttings, and other events. Remember, Networking isn’t about throwing your business cards at everyone; it's about building relationships.

Goal #5 Build Your Online Presence

This can initially seem daunting, especially if you aren’t already doing it. Still, 70 % or more of Americans are using social media. That's a huge slice of the customer pie. Being present online, not just searchable but active. That means a social media presence or writing a weekly blog post (Like the one you're reading now.) It could mean optimizing your webpage to attract more visitors and customers. Your online presence can do wonders for your business. Hop on board, and if you are already there, discover what you can do better or differently to optimize your presence.

You could set many other third-quarter goals, but this is a great starting point. I would encourage you to keep your new goals this quarter at five or fewer. Just like overloading yourself at the beginning of the year, you only have six months to accomplish these goals. Let's make them SMART goals. Are you familiar with this acronym?

Specific- Earn more money vs grow income by 5%

Measurable- Ability to measure progress or set progress levels for the life of the goal

Achievable- Shoot for the moon but make sure your team has a rocket ship you can operate.

Relevant- Your goals should align with the overall objectives of your business and the realities of the economy and market.

Time-Bound- Put a due date on it. It needs to have a final date when this goal should be achieved. Having a due date allows you to create those measurable steps that help you and your staff achieve your goals.

So, give yourself, your business, and your team an opportunity to shake things up, get excited about the future, and grow together toward your ultimate goal.

I am very happy you have stopped by today to read this blog post. I hope it has given you the information and inspiration you need today. As always, I am Jennifer Cooper of JKC Mobile Notary, and I am here if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. I am just a phone call or email away.

Till Next Time,

Jennifer Cooper- JKC Mobile Notary

559-212-4706 jcooper@jkcmobilenotary.com