For those of us who operate our home businesses on a calendar year schedule (instead of an otherwise defined “fiscal year”) we are in the final quarter of yet another year. With only a couple months and a handful of days to go before the end of 2007, it is time to think about tasks and planning to wrap up another year.
For me, it means making sure that all my income records are up to date, compiling invoices, receipts, and other details, and preparing to file my taxes after the start of the coming year (2008), but it also means looking back over the past several months to see if I have met my planning goals and looking for areas where I could have done better (and where I did well) and making plans for next year too.
This “taking stock” that I do in the final quarter of the year is important to me. Partly because it gives me an opportunity to set down plans for next year, but also because I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself and forget to appreciate it when I have actually met or exceeded goals I set for myself a year ago. I get caught up in the day-to-day and it helps me to look back and realize that I really HAVE come a long way over the past twelve months instead of constantly looking at what I HAVE NOT accomplished.
Meanwhile, there are the details to be taken care of as well—record-keeping systems, book-keeping, a marketing and revenue plan for 2008, taxes, personal goals, etc. I like to give myself a couple months at the end of the calendar year to really work through what has happened and make a solid plan for the future—I think it is part of what keeps me motivated, and my home business healthy.
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