The end of the quarter is HERE, which means it's time for a check-up. Whether you’re a fanatical quarterly reviewer, or you’ve haven’t yet done one for your business, now’s a good time to start. I highly recommend you lead a review of key goals and financial results at the end of every quarter.

Your quarterly review shouldn’t be a huge, burdensome process. In fact, the review process should be simple and energizing for everyone involved. It’s an opportunity to reconnect your team to your shared purpose, and make sure everyone is clear on the goals you are pursuing as a company.

Even though quarterly reviews are standard practice for all high performing companies, they remain a mystery to many smaller companies and entrepreneurs who’ve never worked within a corporate setting.  

So I’m going to break it down for you, real easy.

​A quarterly review involves three steps or stages: Preparation. Q&A. Commitment.

ONE: PREPARING FOR YOUR QUARTERLY REVIEW

1. Pull out your key goals and objectives from the beginning of the year and/or the beginning of the quarter. Use this helpful PDF as a guide.
2. If you keep a dashboard of key operational measures; make sure it is complete and up to date through the end of the quarter. If you don’t have a dashboard take the time to collect a few data points from the past quarter (or 2 or 3 quarters).
3. Ask everyone on your team to look at the key goals and objectives for the quarter that relate to their work and report in on progress from their unique perspective in the business.
4. Print a monthly Profit and Loss statement for the past quarter that shows your actual income and expenses compared to your budget in the final column.
5. Create a balance sheet for the same time period (the last three months).
6. If you've been using myc 7 Numbers you Need to Know worksheet, now is the time to take a closer look at what those numbers are telling you.

TWO: FOCUS A TEAM CONVERSATION AROUND10 QUESTIONS

This team meeting can be focused and expedient. In 10 questions, you will be able to cover every element of your business that needs your attention for the upcoming quarter.

1. What was your company’s biggest win this quarter?
2. What is your biggest opportunity for improvement in the coming quarter?
3. How close is your actual revenue to your projected revenue? Did you over-perform? (CELEBRATE) Did you hit your target? (CELEBRATE) Did you fall significantly short of your goal? (Ok, still CELEBRATE! As long as you are in business, there’s something to celebrate!)
4. How are your costs running? At a summary level are you spending more, less or on target for each major cost area: Costs of Goods Sold. Advertising & Sales. Personnel & General Operating Expenses.
5. How is your cash position? Do you have the funds you need to press hard, or are you still juggling bills and leaking cash? Are you up to date with bills, credit cards and loan payments?
6. What does your sales pipeline look like for the next 3 months or 6 months? Where are your best opportunities to do better?
7. How is your team doing? Does everyone understand their role and the importance of what they do? Does each team member have the resources and support they need?  
8. What roadblocks or obstacles can be eliminated to make each team/team member more productive and focused?
9. What systems could be created or implemented to make the work more efficient?
10. What other work can be postponed, delegated, or outsourced so that you and your team
    can focus on the core goals and highest value work?

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THREE: COMMIT

No matter what the previous quarter was like, commit to your next quarter as though it is all achievable (because it is). Walk into your next quarter with unwavering commitment.

1. What are the top three must have, must do goals for next quarter? Decide with your team on your top priorities for this next quarter.
2. Create 3 to 5 high level objectives** for each goal. Make objectives specific, measurable, and visible. **Goals state what you want to accomplish; objectives detail progress points or methods for achieving your goals.
3. Make it fun! Create a plan to celebrate successes along the way to keep you and your team focused and engaged.
4. Identify systems, processes or procedures that can make it easier for team members to actually implement the work.

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If you are using Profit First to drive increase in profitability; this is also the time to review and update your allocation percentages and possibly increase reserves for profit, owners pay or tax payments while decreasing allocations for operating expenses. [Consult with me, a certified Profit First Professional, to learn more!]​

RINSE AND REPEAT AT THE END OF EACH QUARTER

Hot Tip for beginners:  if you don’t have clear goals and objectives for this year or quarter, start NOW by defining a few (3 or less) goals for the coming three months. Make them very specific and measurable; then figure out how you’re going to track progress towards those goals. Make the information visible (posterboard, whiteboard, shared document online) and update it regularly. Then you’ll be ready to build your annual goals (and conduct a quarterly review) with a few months of real information.  ​

Business is no joke; anyone who runs one can attest to that. So what keeps us going, even when we’re slogging through a tough day or a rough week in our business? ​

We keep going because there is validation and reward on the other side of struggle. We persevere in hopes of experiencing those breakthrough moments that give us the fuel to continue.

So what can we do to create more breakthroughs and fewer breakdowns?

Maybe this true story will give you some ideas.

Last week I watched a long-standing client experience her own breakthrough moment—the effect was all you could hope for!

Michelle Retik is the founder of Squirrel & The Bee. She’s a pastry chef who came down with an immunological disease that robbed her of the ability to eat most of the things that gave her joy.

Refusing to be poached of pleasure, she chose to create delicious, healthy food that she and others (with and without similar dietary restrictions) can enjoy.

Fast forward 5 years. Michelle is now the owner of a retail cafe in Short Hills NJ that does over $1 million in sales. She has launched her products online (go ahead, try some! www.squirrelandthebee.com), wholesales products to other local cafes, and is now entering the grocery market in regional Whole Foods stores.

She’s even developed a new series of products that are free from all seven of the most common allergens, and is currently working on establishing an allergen free bakery to be able to add these products to her eCommerce and wholesale offering.

When you consider all that is going on in her company, it’s easy to imagine how potentially (and realistically) overwhelming and exhausting the day to day running of her business can be.

Michelle, like many of us, has been there, drowning in the deep end. But her entrepreneurial spirit is strong, and she’s kept a steadfast vision of the possibility of expanding her business so she can reach even more people with her packaged granola and cookie line.

In order to realize that expansion, she’s toiled for months to put together a big picture strategic plan, a financial plan, and a deck that tells her story to prospective investors (sometimes you’ve got to put in the grind to get to the other side).

Last Monday Michelle got up on stage at Slow Money NYC’s Good Food Spotlight, took the mic and pitched her dream in public for the first time—ever. The Good Food Spotlight provides a friendly and engaged audience for business owners who are part of creating a sustainable, healthy and fair food system. (disclaimer: I’m a board member of Slow Money NYC and help produce Good Food Spotlight).

As a result of her presentation, Michelle met dozens of people including investors and other entrepreneurs. She received enthusiastic support for her product, her business and her growth strategy from people who understand exactly what she is aiming for and what it takes to get there.

A HUGE win, but the wins kept coming.

The next day Michelle had meetings with two prospective investors who also gave her strong positive feedback.

These experiences have given Michelle the one priceless thing every business plan and strategy needs: validation. With validation comes confidence to keep taking the next step, keep talking to the next person.

With that kind of validation, the difference in the strength and stamina of a business is massive.

Sure, the day to day problems of running a retail cafe business are still there—staff still call out sick; customers are not universally happy.

But the boost of validation, confidence and connections that she got last week helped move her several steps closer to making her vision a reality.

Breakthroughs often come after consistent, dedicated work and a commitment to your vision and dream. Do not waiver, move forward.

What is the one tangible, practical thing you can today to make that breakthrough you’re seeking come sooner?

PS — If you want to learn more about Slow Money and Good Food Spotlight and how they could help you grow your business, just hit reply.