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September 14, 2023

'Tis the Season to Plan Q4

c/o Canva

Here's my business ownership journey in a nutshell:

  • 2016: Hot mess
  • 2017: Hot mess
  • 2018: Mess
  • 2019: Functional
  • 2020: Organized, doing a lot, making more
  • 2021: Organized, doing a lot, making more, and getting audited by the IRS for my 2017 f*ckery
  • 2022: Organized, doing less, making less
  • 2023: Organized, doing less, making more

What changed in 2020? Easy: I began doing quarterly planning.

Quarterly planning helps you stop trying to do all the things. It focuses your efforts on what I like to call “big rocks.” Big rocks take effort to move, so one to three big rocks per quarter will be plenty.

Also, for many of us, quarterly planning is one of the only times we can zoom out from our day-to-day routine and really examine what is and isn't working. It takes a few quarters to find your groove — don't give up after the first stab.

If you're trying to make moves online, quarterly planning will become your best friend. Here's my take on how to approach it as a solopreneur or small business stakeholder.

đź”— Read Up on QBR Tips

Another ThriveCart Mic Drop

c/o Thrivecart

On Monday, cart checkout software provider ThriveCart dropped big updates to their platform: A new cart editor, over 20 new sales page templates, and over 100 new pre-designed blocks. You can now also add multiple bumps on a checkout page. Building a sales page has never been easier.

If you haven't gotten into the ThriveCart craze yet, you need to. One lifetime payment gets you in, and then you're grandfathered into all these awesome updates. I haven't paid ThriveCart a penny since 2020.

Read my review of ThriveCart below to get a refresher on why you need this kickass software in your life if you're doing business online.

đź”— Read the ThriveCart Review

American Entrepreneurship Hits Record High

c/o Pexels

Nearly 1 in 5 adults are in the process of starting a business or have already done so since March 2020, according to a new report released Thursday, as reported by The Washington Post. The US ranks third in entrepreneurial saturation, behind the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

More entrepreneurship means more jobs, more commerce, and more people designing lives they love. It also means more saturation, and as consumers spend less, only the strong will survive. Business closures were 5.2% in 2022. In 2019, it was 2.9%, so that's a big jump.

The US continues to see over 400,000 new businesses being formed per month. Adults between the ages of 18 and 34 are twice as likely to start a business than those over 35, but us old folks are more successful. A 50-year-old is twice as likely to be successful as an entrepreneur as a 30-year-old, and in 2021 nearly 60% of all entrepreneurs were over the age of 50.

Don't believe everything you see on social -- experience has its perks. Read the full release at WaPo below.

đź”— Read at Washington Post (friend link)

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Cheering you on,

—Nick