Taking Advantage Of That ‘Back To School’ Feeling as an Entrepreneur
September and fall are often synonymous with new beginnings. They represent a fresh start, a time to reinvigorate yourself, and sometimes a refresh to your style.
For some, that ‘back to school’ feeling never went away after grade school or college. Paige Rechtman, LMHC, says, “We have been programmed from a young age to think about summer as a time for fun, relaxation, and freedom. And we have also been programmed to see fall as a time to “get back to business.”
As an adult and entrepreneur, it can be used as a time to reflect and re-strategize to finish the fourth quarter strong, regardless of how the year started.
Rechtman agrees saying “any opportunity to feel a bit more motivated can be used to your advantage. This back-to-school feeling can be used as a reset, to look back at what you’ve accomplished this past year and what you’d like to do before it ends.” She adds that “‘back to school’ does fall right at Q4, when business owners have just enough time to really focus on accomplishing their goals for the year.”
Businesses and entrepreneurs are still recovering from the aftermath of the pandemic and they may be finding what worked for growth and sustaining pre-2020, is different from what’s working in Q4 of 2023.
And it can feel frustrating if there’s still uncertainty in the future of their company. To reduce the overwhelm and potential internal pressure to squeeze nine months of goals into the last quarter of the year, Rechtman suggests “to see every quarter, whether Q1 or Q4, as its own mini “year,” and create separate goals for that specific quarter.”
Additionally, Rechtman shares that, “personally, I see fall as just as much of a fresh start as the New Year. The New Year falls in the dead of winter, and for many of us, it’s natural to feel a bit more sluggish and unmotivated when there is less sunshine during the day and it’s much colder.”
She adds, “there is something about the crisp temperature in the fall season that follows the hot days of summer that energizes people to get outside, be a bit more active, and take advantage of the days before winter sets in.”
Similar to how a change in scenery may help boost creativity and productivity, a new quarter may help revitalize goals and new strategies.
Rechtman’s three key pieces of advice to make the most of the end of the year are:
Take some time and really try to start fresh come the start of Q4. Think about your goals for the year, what else you would like to accomplish, and realistic tactics for how you can try and achieve what you set out to do this year.
You have roughly 12 weeks remaining in 2023 - but that doesn’t include the many holidays that occur in Q4. Do what is within your control with the time you have left.
Remember that 2023 is just 1 year. And Q4 is just 1 quarter of 1 year in your business. There are always going to be ups and downs. We are all still recovering from the effects of COVID, so don’t be too discouraged or hard on yourself if your business hasn’t landed where you wanted it to by now.
Expert featured:
Paige Rechtman, LMHC, is a licensed therapist in NYC. Visit her website and follow on YouTube.