Ending the Year Your Way: A Business Owner’s Guide to the Holidays and Beyond
It’s ok to end the year relaxed.
It’s ok to end the year with a detailed plan for Q1.
It’s ok to take a 2-week break from business.
It’s ok to spend time working in between family visits.
There is no right or wrong way to celebrate the holiday season as a business owner. As a business owner, there is no right or wrong way to ring in the new year.
Whenever I tentatively step onto social media, I have people screaming at me about what I should do next. My immediate thought is, “Do you even know me?” If these people knew me, they would tailor their advice to my strengths, weaknesses, goals, and available assets.
One thing we preach at G&G is that business is personal. We never want to be the person who says you HaVeEee to do something. We know that you are unique; your business and strategy should be too.
(That is why one of our core offerings is custom strategic planning. If working with someone who will cater personalized solutions to your challenges, contact us here)
If you are walking into the last half of this month tentatively not knowing what to focus on, let me offer you some suggested resources to help you get inspired and started in the direction you want.
WANT TO START PLANNING FOR Q1 of 2025?
We can all admit that your business needs a plan.
And it starts and ends with PLANNING - both big and little!
Big planning is your annual or quarterly planning
Little planning is your weekly and daily plans.
In this blog post, we are going to talk about BIG PLANNING (stay tuned for a blog specifically for little planning).
Before we begin, let me start with a caveat! This is a strategy that I used in my corporate career, years in the classroom, and in my business, and have been certified to provide for clients. I also know that my brain LOVES big-picture strategic thinking – my strengthsfinder is FULL of strengths like ideation, futuristic, and strategy that help me absorb and analyze information to make sound decisions.
I also know many entrepreneurs who don’t like this work.
And you might be in that category!
If so, I have good news for you: if you want to outsource your big planning like quarterly plans, launch plans, or communications plans G&G Consulting can do that for you! It’s literally my favorite thing to ponder, daydream, and decide for clients!
Now, if you want to tackle BIG planning on your own you can follow the steps in this blog post.
NEED TO SAVE SOME TIME IN THE NEW YEAR?
If you are cringing when you hear that my suggestion is using AI to help save time, just give me a minute to explain.
As someone who did my first ChatGPT query in late 2022 to write a real estate love letter for a house we wanted and used it this week to tweak some middle school questions about plant growth. I am happy to report I have used it in my full-time job and business to help maximize my time.
Don’t hear what I am not saying.
I am not using AI to write these blog posts (if I did there would by wayyyy less errors).
I am not using AI to host my client calls.
I am not using AI to write quarterly plans for clients.
But, I am using it for other things.
Using Grammarly (the free version) to edit our proposals, blogs, and emails.
Using ChatGPT to help brainstorm creative names for new ideas.
Using MagicSchool.AI to modify rubrics for lesson plans.
I think the question most professionals have is, “Can we use it to save time in our day-to-day life or work life”. The answer is yes, in varying shades of gray depending on your ideas for use, willingness to implement, and your level of integration.
If you are interested in dipping your toe into AI in 2025, check out this blog post.
WANT TO WORK ON YOUR PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT IN 2025?
You might be ready to work on your personal or business growth in 2025. I mean a lot of us have a list a mile long. But, you might also realize you don’t even know where to begin. And we get it - we live in a world inundated with “the next big thing” “your success starts here” and “that magic pill you’ve been looking for.”
Now, I am not against personal growth, but what I AM against is toxic personal growth. I am against doing something just because everyone else is.
If you didn’t know, personal growth is UNIQUE to you. Hence the word “personal” 😉.
That is why we wrote this blog about how to choose personal development that is right for you!
NEED TO FIND SOME COMMUNITY NEXT YEAR?
One thing I know to be integral to my success is community. I can’t do anything alone. Well, that might be dramatic, but I will say that my life would be exponentially worse without my family, friends, and business owner community!
And if you a newer to business ownership or just never found the time to connect with other business owners, I get it.
You might be thinking, I haven’t been able to find those people yet. You might even feel alone in your entrepreneurship journey. If so, I want to share a few ways that you can actively work to make connections in the online business space.
These are all things that I’ve personally done and can honestly say they’ve all been effective in some capacity!
Check this blog post out for 5 ways to find community in 2025. And if you haven’t heard the good news yet, G&G started a free monthly community call for entrepreneurs called the BREAK ROOM. Feel free to find your new circle in the break room on the first Friday of every month!
There you have it! A few resources that might help you as you close the 2024 chapter and open up a brand spanking new page to your business journey in 2025.
If this is right up your alley and you want more resources like this, sign up for the weekly Growth Guide newsletter. This newsletter is for entrepreneurs who want to ditch hustle culture and dig up an intentional and aligned business, no matter what season you’re in.
