191. September is the new January. Start Planning for Black Friday Now.

September madness is upon us! September is the new January, and if you run a business you know – Black Friday, the holidays, and the end of Q4. Don’t worry, I’ve got your back. Disclaimer: This is my favorite time of year, but I know it comes with stressors. I want you to take a deep breathe with me and picture the end of the year. Embrace the feeling and remind yourself you are amazing.  What did you accomplish to feel that way at the end of 2023? Now this can be mostly about your business, but because we’re not compartmentalized human beings, it might also be about family, your health, your finances and even your friendships. I'm going to challenge you to take the first fifteen minutes of every day and make sure you're doing planning for the end of the year, that you're actually thinking about the people who need you and asking yourself where they are during these times. And how can you help? The second thing I want to challenge you with is who do you want in your life, in your business and outside your business? We’re still at a time where people are lonely; the fall season comes and people hunker down inside. Who do you want to be spending time with? You will find more success if you’re surrounding yourself with people who are not only challenging themselves, but are able to find time to rest. To find time to be with their families and chase their passions outside of their business, too. As you're thinking towards the end of the year, I want you to incorporate all aspects of you. Women running businesses cannot shut down pieces of themselves and expect to be successful. It’s very challenging to be successful if you feel like there's a part of you locked away. Is there somebody that you've wanted to hire?  Or is there someone you’ve wanted to bring on to your team? It's time to get excited again. It's time to remember who you want to have in your business. Who do you want to be selling to? Who are the people you want in your world? I don't think this is done enough, as I really want you to think through Black Friday and the reason I'm saying that is because you may not want to do it. I am so tired of everybody running around acting like you have to run your business the way everyone else runs their business. You do not. You can run your business in a way that works for you. And finally, if you think about it now, gently, methodically, and calmly, you might come up with something really cool to offer in the week between Christmas and New Year’s. So many people are sitting on the couch. They might be fighting with family members, they might have overeaten, they might be exhausted themselves. And they’re online looking for solutions.  Wouldn't it be cool if you were the person they found? Think about how you can show up and delight your clients and customers in that last week of the calendar year. It's time to reconnect, it's time to take control of your schedule, and it's time to show up throughout the end of the year. Let's make this fall and this holiday season amazing. Sarah’s cookie recipe: Other Game On Girlfriend podcast episodes you might want to check out:  How to Run Your Business When Life Happens https://sarahwalton.com/when-life-happens/  How to Stand Out in Life and in Business with Nida Leard https://sarahwalton.com/stand-out-in-business/  Staying Productive (and HAPPY!) in December https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYst-K7rGjI  You can check out our podcast interviews on YouTube, too! http://bit.ly/YouTubeSWalton   Thank you so much for listening. I'm so honored that you're here and would be so grateful if you could leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts by clicking here, scrolling to the bottom, and clicking "Write a review." Then we'll get to inspire even more people! (If you’re not sure how to leave a review, you can watch this quick tutorial.)  #PlansForBlackFriday #BlackFridayTips #BlackFriday #Q4 #NewYearChallenge #NewYearPrep #WomenInBusiness #IntuitiveBusinessCoach #EntrepreneurLife #BusinessCoach #SalesCoach