5 REASONS WHY THE END OF THE YEAR IS KEY FOR YOUR BRAND

Hello again! I’m back with another blog and this one is all about 5 reasons why the end of the year is key for YOUR brand. So what inspired this blog? Well, there’s a couple of things. First of all, due to my schedule, and my client’s schedule, I’ve had a few days where I can really focus on the business, and work on where I want to be and what I want to achieve rather than simply being flat out and in it. 

Secondly, it’s actually starting to feel like winter now (I mean I was in a beer garden on Sunday soaking up the last of the rays) but this week, it’s got COLD! And winter, before Christmas, is always a key time for me, but I’ll come on to that soon.

So what I wanted to talk to you about today is my 5 key reasons why the final few months of the year are so important for your brand. And why you should treat November and December a little bit differently to a lot of entrepreneurs out there. So let’s do this…

 

#1 DON’T GET LEFT BEHIND IN JANUARY

First of all, and this may be a bit controversial, but I’m a big believer that the end of the year is NOT the time the time to slow down or put your feet up. It might be what a lot of people do, I’m sure you’ve seen the wind down posts every winter, but that doesn’t mean you have to follow suit. In fact, my advice would be to do the exact opposite.

Why? Because if you do decide to take December off, or not work on the business, then come January, you’re going to be trying to get things going, trying to make things happen and it’s probably gonna’ be close to the end of February before you start to see any results. Add that to December and suddenly you’ve lost a quarter of the year. That’s 3 month with little to no brand exposure…which is pretty crazy, right? Of all people, I know the importance of self-care, so I’m not saying you’ve got to work all Christmas – hell no! But I think this time of year, more than ever is the time to work smart so that we’re ready to hit the ground running in January.

And if you’re anything like me you’ll enjoy a nice relaxing break over Christmas so much more when you’ve got your brand plans in place, ready to roll out.

 

#2 COMPLETING THAT TO DO LIST

Back in September I contributed to a Stylist article all about the September reset, and why it’s so important to reassess your goals as in the final few months of the year. And I don’t think that changes for our brands either. I’m sure we all had a to-do list for the year, and I’m sure there are things we still want to get done, right?

So why not make really push to them happen before the end of the year? Why not prove to yourself that you can smash those goals faster than expected, rather than let ‘em slide? 

I find goal setting, and the process of ticking them off a great way to fuel that fire in my belly. And if we work from home alone, when the weather’s rubbish, and it’s dark by 4pm, we need that fire more than ever (not just to keep warm). So why not give it one more push? Get those goals nailed and you can even use the challenge of completing them as part of your brand storytelling.

I mean, who wouldn’t want to work with a woman, with a brand that doesn’t give up. That treats the end of the year the same way they treat the start of it. Who always gives 100%, shows up and never gives up? That can be you.

 

#3 CELEBRATING SUCCESS

I’ll be honest, this is something I’m terrible at. And I mean, really terrible. But something I’m working on every day. 

I think we devote our time to either being in the business, nailing client work, or working on the business by looking ahead to what’s next. What’s the next project? The next goal? The next milestone?

But how often do we step back and look at how far we’ve come? Look at what we’ve achieved and made happen as brands? And as female entrepreneurs. This path isn’t always simple, there are ups and downs, highs and lows, and it can be so easy to focus on the negatives. To let them cloud our thinking. 

So for the end of 2019, let’s stop that. Let’s shout about the biggest wins. Let’s tell stories about them, let’s use them to show the impact of our brand and most importantly, let’s use our success to inspire our audience. 

 

#4 NAILING YOUR BRAND STRATEGY

Now this is the big one. And it relates to all of the previous 3 too. This time of year is the perfect time to get that brand strategy locked and in place, ready to make 2020 your year.

Look back at what went well this year and think about how you can make it bigger and better than ever next year. Maybe it’s a specific package you created, or maybe it’s a course you launched, or a workshop you hosted. But whatever it is, how can you take the learnings from it to grow, evolve and scale your business moving forwards?

Something I always try to do before the start of the new year is plot my goals for the next 12 months. And I don’t just mean I want to earn X by X. I mean I want to release a course on X date, so I know that the weeks before it, and after it, I’m going to be focussed on that. Or maybe, I want to do 4 workshops next year, so when’s the best time to host them? It’s about having a broad plan in place, that gives me the confidence to know that I know exactly what I need to do and when to hit the ground running the moment I sit back down at my computer in January.

 

#5 MOMENTUM IS POWERFUL 

The final point is something that I believe is absolutely at the heart of being an entrepreneur is momentum. From the moment you launch and right throughout your business, you need to keep that energy up and keep the fire burning.

As someone who loves a deadline, and loves to work at 150mph, momentum means staying busy, staying focussed and showing up with intent, day in, day out. That’s why I don’t like to take my foot off the pedal in the final few months of the year.

Of course you have all the new year, new me, fresh start hype in January, but personally I would much rather be building on momentum at that moment, rather than trying to generate it from a standing start. 

So there you have it, 5 key reasons why the end of the year is key for your brand. 

Now, the only question is, what are you doing to get ready for 2020? It’s time to get your brand on-point, ready to kick ass and take next year by storm.

What are you waiting for?