Business
271 - How To Crush Q4 Like A Million-Dollar Business Owner
In this episode of the Become Your Own Boss Podcast, host Monica Allen shares strategies for small business owners to maximize their success in the fourth quarter. With insights drawn from her persona...
271 - How To Crush Q4 Like A Million-Dollar Business Owner
Business •
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Interactive Transcript
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You can't build a reputation on what you're going to do, Henry Ford.
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You have the power to be the boss of your own life.
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I'm your host Monica Allen. I'm a wife, mom, entrepreneur, best-selling author, lifelong learner, and your business.
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I have a love and passion for all things small business.
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Growing my own company from $700 to over seven figures annually,
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my goal is to bring you inspiration, business-focused topics and tips, encouragement, and a community
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that helps you launch, grow, and scale your business,
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whether you are a dreamer, a side hustler, or a seasoned entrepreneur.
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You are listening to the Become Your Own Boss Podcast.
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Let's start with some exciting news from Inside of Zoozus' closet.
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I recently made an offer to a new team member to join our business.
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I am so excited, but hiring is always a big step.
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It's thrilling and a little nerve-wracking because it signals growth and it signals change.
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For me, it's a reminder that we can't scale if we insist on doing everything ourselves,
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which is kind of what I've been doing for the past two or three years on the front end of our business.
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A little helping hands here and there with virtual assistance and things,
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but we really need someone there who I can train to be, I call, a mini-me.
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We need the right people to help deliver an amazing customer experience and keep our system strong.
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As a matter of fact, I actually entitled this position that I recently hired for client experience advocate.
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I wanted to do that because whoever applied for the position, any applicants,
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I wanted them to be clear on what they would be doing.
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They know they'll be working with clients.
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They know they're part of the experience and they're part of their advocate for that experience for the client.
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I really wanted that to be very clear in the title of the particular position,
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because they're going to work with clients, so they've got to enjoy people and want to connect with people
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and make sure that person has an excellent experience with our company.
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I mentioned change.
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Whenever you hire someone, of course, there's the training process and there is a change.
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There's a change in how things are handled to some degree.
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Of course, systems are key, but speaking of change, I finished my first doctoral class.
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I only have like 19 more to go.
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I'm going to move my second one.
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The second class is actually a change management class.
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I am really excited about this because I am learning something new,
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learning more around change management, change management behaviors,
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and hopefully I can share some of that with you in the future.
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I'll let you know what I learned.
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Okay, topic for today.
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Can you believe it?
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It is the fourth quarter.
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We are in the final stretch of this year, which is crazy to me.
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I feel like this year is gone by.
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They just keep getting faster and faster.
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But this is a great time for us to look back at our goals that we set back in January.
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It's a time for us to review our wins, our lessons.
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I'll say lessons instead of losses, but our lessons.
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And make sure that we're closing out this year really strong.
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And because of that, I'm asking myself three questions and I'm going to share those with you.
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So you can perhaps ask yourself those same questions and we can run this race towards the end of the year together.
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The first question is, have you hit your revenue target so far?
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I can tell you that we have not, but I'm pushing really hard to make this last three months really, really strong and hopefully surpass where we were last year.
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Second question, which marketing channels brought in the most leads?
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This is something that we've been looking at closely when it, especially when it comes to Google and Meta, we have got to figure out if they are worth their salt.
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I know we have to do it to some degree, but the amount we're spending doesn't make sense.
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And then the third question is, where do you need to lighten up or double down?
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And that one is a little tougher question for me.
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I'm trying to, I'm trying to figure that out.
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Those are three questions. We can all work on those together. We can reflect on those.
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And let's not skip it. You know, we want to make sure we are clear on where we've been and where we're going.
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And it just makes us set a smart finish line strategy.
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That's what I'll call it a smart finish line strategy.
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All right, also want to talk about since we are in this last quarter of the year, we know it is a big, big time of year, especially if you're in the retail space.
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And also depending on what services you offer.
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But let's talk about our holiday marketing game plan because we need to have a strategy.
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The holiday season is here, whether we like it or not, we have Halloween coming up.
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Then of course Thanksgiving and Christmas.
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And this is the time when customer attention is high, but competition is fierce.
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So a clear plan is key.
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And while I often try not to duplicate the same content in my newsletter,
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as the podcast, truthfully, right now is kind of a little bit of a duplicate because I talked about these things in the September newsletter.
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And I want to run over this with my podcast listeners as well.
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Not everyone who listens, subscribe to the newsletter.
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If you don't subscribe, though, go over and get it again. I try not to duplicate the content, but this will be similar.
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And this is where I want to focus when it comes to our marketing strategy.
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One is direct mail pieces.
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I know this is kind of an old fashioned way to market, but it still works.
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A beautifully designed postcard or holiday catalog can stand out in a very crowded digital world.
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That's one thing.
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Number two, a gift guide and or a lookbook.
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Whether it's printed or digital, curated gift ideas, help customers imagine the perfect present and reduce decision fatigue.
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If you're an entrepreneur, you know about decision fatigue because as a business owner, you have to make a lot of decisions.
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If you can reduce that for your customer, they will love you.
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So help them help you.
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Hope you help them.
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Number four, social media countdown campaigns.
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Think a 12 days of gifting series or behind the scenes holiday prep, which can create urgency and a connection with your customers.
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And we do this every year. We do the 12 days of Christmas for stuff for Greeks and we give gift ideas for our customers over the 12 days.
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I think we started maybe December 1st and then we run it for 12 days.
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You can also post really cool gift giving ideas on your social media pages.
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And then number five, early bird specials.
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If you can reward customers who order early, maybe with free shipping or bonus gift, this will help smooth out your production schedule.
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In our business, the closer you get to Christmas, the more expensive things get to have produced because they still have to be customized.
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They still have to be touched. They still have to be created.
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It gets more expensive, the closer you get to Christmas, the earlier you ordered the better.
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Number six, community events and pop-ups.
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You can partner with local businesses for small holiday markets or in store events to drive foot traffic.
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Now, I have a friend who has a business. He's actually my B and I group and he sells these candied apples.
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And he's out at fairs and festivals all the time. October is a huge month for him.
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You got to think about it with all the different things that are happening in October around apple picking and riding on hay rides and all of these types of things.
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It's great for his business.
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And number seven, VIP or loyalty perks.
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This is like exclusive previews or limited edition items for your best customers.
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Those who have been with you for a while, take two or three and really sit down and think about what it is you want to do in your business.
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The key is to make it easy for people to buy and to stay top of mind with consistent messaging.
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And if you can reduce the hassle map, reduce decision fatigue, all those things your customers will appreciate it.
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So here's my challenge to you. Before this week is over, I say that the podcast post on Friday.
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So the beginning of next week, block out of time to review your Q3 numbers.
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You do need to know where you were and of course where you want to be.
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And sketch out at least one holiday promotion.
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You don't want to wait until November.
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If you've done it already, you are ahead of the game and that is amazing.
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But if you haven't done it yet, do it this month.
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And you don't want to be in a reaction state.
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So don't wait until November.
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Because then you'll be reaching, preaching instead of leading.
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And you want to lead, you want to lead the charge.
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One of my favorite words is intentionality or intention.
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And growth isn't accidental, it's intentional.
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And one of the things that Ethan and I often talk about is what you focus on expands.
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So if you're looking at your numbers, if you are focusing on your marketing and looking at what those promotions are, you want to put out there, those things will expand.
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Because you're setting an intention around those.
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Whether you're hiring, planning or launching a new campaign, every move you make now sets the tone for next year.
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We're already talking about 2026.
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But before we get there, let's finish this quarter.
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Strong, with focus and with energy.
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Thanks for joining me today. I'm grateful for you.
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Remember to go out and subscribe, rate and review the podcast.
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It really does help the podcast grow if you take a moment to rate it.
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I look at podcasts like Mel Robbins podcast and I think, wow, she has so many ratings and reviews.
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And so if each of you who listen, because it's actually a good number of people, just took a moment to go and rate and review the podcast, write a quick little review, that would be amazing.
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If you don't mind, please take a moment to do that.
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Also, just a reminder around a couple of things that the podcast has going on.
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One is the Kickstart Your Business Program.
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You can see the show notes for that.
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But if you know someone who's in a place that wants to start a business and they're a little bit confused, they don't know where to start or they are trying to figure it out, the Kickstart Your Business Program has 11 modules that walk you through from start to launch.
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So share that with them. It's $97.00. Link is in the show notes.
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Literally, I put all of the things that I wish I would have known when I started my business into the Kickstart Your Business Program.
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And then lastly, if you're not already subscribed to the Level Up Living newsletter, go over to my website, monicaealon.com, click the Bright Purple button and get signed up there.
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I think if you're on mobile, it's actually a blue button.
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But either way, you'll see at Level Up Living newsletter, you can subscribe there and that way it'll be delivered to your inbox each and every month.
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And that's it for me today. I appreciate you. Thank you for listening. And remember, now is the time.
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Now is the time to level up, leave a legacy and become your own boss.
Topics Covered
Become Your Own Boss Podcast
small business tips
entrepreneurship inspiration
client experience advocate
holiday marketing strategy
Q4 business goals
decision fatigue solutions
community events for businesses
social media marketing
Kickstart Your Business Program
change management
customer experience
business growth strategies
intentional business planning
marketing channels effectiveness