Latest / The 3Bz Podcast - Building Better Business / EP141 - Fix These 5 Things Now or Regret It in January

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EP141 - Fix These 5 Things Now or Regret It in January · The 3Bz Podcast - Building Better Business

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  Hi there business owner, and welcome to the Three BS Podcast,
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  the place where we go beyond the numbers and dive into the
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  strategies to help you build a Better Business one step at a
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  time. I'm your host, Stephanie, a
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  multi awarding entrepreneur with over a decade of experience in
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  the bookkeeping and currency world.
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  If you're a business owner looking to streamline, grow and
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  get back the time that you deserve, you're in the right
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  place tackling real world problems, answering tough
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  questions, and digging deep into business building secrets in
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  just 15 minutes each week. So Are you ready to build a
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  Better Business with confidence and clarity?
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  Then let's go. Hello and welcome back to
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  another episode of the Three BS Podcast, your go to place for 15
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  minutes of CPD certified motivation, inspiration and
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  education each week. If we haven't met before, I'm
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  Stephanie Marshall, founder of ABCSUK, bookkeeper, accountant,
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  business development strategist, recovering perfectionist and
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  influence of the year 2024 and 2025.
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  But for full transparency, I am someone who is far too familiar
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  with that. Oh God, why didn't I do this
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  before Christmas? Feeling that hits all of us
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  every January. And for the bookkeepers and
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  accountants out there, we know January means tax season.
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  And we know it is so busy and so stressful that that why didn't
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  we do this before Christmas feeling hits even harder.
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  Today is going to be a lovingly firm, professionally
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  unprofessional nudge from me to you.
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  This episode is called Fix These Five Things Now or regret it in
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  January. And trust me, you will regret it
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  in January if you don't. This episode is inspired by
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  ABC's UK's Advent calendar, by the way.
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  If you're following along, you'll know the vibe.
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  Bite sized tips to stop you being blindsided by the new year
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  with gifts, takeaways, links to the podcast and all that fun
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  stuff. I'll pop the link in the show
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  notes so you can go and check it out.
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  And don't miss out on some of the giveaways.
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  So grab a coffee or whatever you're drinking while avoiding
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  that inbox and let's get into the five things every business
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  owner should sort before the year ends #1 and it shouldn't be
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  a surprise. Get your bookkeeping up to date.
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  I know, shocking that the Bookkeeping Girl starts with
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  bookkeeping, but honestly, this one is a non negotiable.
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  The reason January feels so stressful for so many business
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  owners is because December you promised January you that you'd
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  catch up later, and January you is already tired, already spent
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  and already dealing with the tax return deadline, new year energy
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  goals set in and clients returning from holiday expecting
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  you to be a whole new person. So this is your sign to get your
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  bookkeeping up to date. Now upload the receipts,
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  reconcile the bank, categorise those transactions.
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  Stop pretending that you'll enjoy doing this when the
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  Christmas tree is half dead and you're powering yourself with
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  leftover roses or quality streets.
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  And if you hate doing it or avoid it because you're scared
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  of what the numbers will say, that's exactly why you need to
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  do it now. The numbers are never as scary
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  as a story you tell yourself, and it is so important to get
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  our support. If you really, really hate doing
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  it, do instruct A bookkeeper accountant like us at ABCSUK to
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  take away that stress and that pressure.
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  We can do it for you. We can help you, you can focus
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  on the business and we can focus on the bits that we're good at,
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  which is data and numbers #2 review your prices for 2026.
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  Do not, I repeat, do not go into the new year charging 2024 or
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  early 2025 prices while your costs have increased, your
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  energy has increased, your expertise has increased, and the
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  economic environment is basically doing the cha cha
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  slide. Your pricing needs to reflect
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  reality. Your pricing needs to reflect
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  your skill and experience, and your pricing needs to sustain
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  you and all of your members of staff.
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  So now is your time to have a look at what takes you more time
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  than it used to, what your competitors are doing right
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  right now, what your clients actually need right now, what
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  you need to earn to cover your life plus business, and what
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  needs to go. Services are allowed to retire.
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  Products are allowed to stop being sold.
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  This is the time where you need to reflect on your ear honestly
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  and openly and say goodbye to the things that no longer serve
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  you. If you want a brutally honest
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  guide, Episode 124 was all about that value and pricing
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  psychology. It's well worth a listen if you
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  haven't. Or maybe go back and give
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  yourself a refresher over that Boxing Day leftover Turkey.
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  Update your pricing now so you're not awkwardly emailing
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  clients mid January apologizing for the change in prices.
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  New Year is the clean slate moment.
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  Use it to your advantage #3 check your subscriptions and
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  automatic payments. The silent killer of small
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  business profits is the subscriptions you forgot existed
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  or the subscriptions you're paying twice for the same thing
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  now. This is important for both
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  personal and business life. I definitely recommend auditing
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  your personal subscriptions too. After all, you've probably got
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  Netflix, Disney Plus and YouTube, and realistically, you
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  don't need all three. Do a sweep of apps, software,
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  courses, memberships, tools you tried once and never used again.
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  Free trials that they went into paying that you've never
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  actually looked at, that thing you subscribed to that one time
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  because the checkout page was pretty.
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  These all add up. Like genuinely add up.
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  I've seen business reclaim hundreds of pounds a month for
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  things they didn't realise they were still paying for and they
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  weren't using. When you do your subscription
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  audit, ask yourself these three questions.
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  One, do I use it? 2, do I need it?
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  Three, does it generate money or save time?
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  The answer is no to any of those things.
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  Cut it out. Treat it like cleaning out the
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  fridge before Christmas or go into the kids room and getting
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  rid of all those old broken toys to make space for new ones.
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  Out with the old, in with the new #4 Set your boundaries
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  before the new year. This is the one I wish more
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  business owners did. If you don't decide your
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  boundaries now, generally decide some for you.
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  Think about your working hours, your communication, response
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  times, what you're no longer available for, what you're not
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  carrying into next year when clients can expect work from
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  you. Whether you want your Fridays
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  back, whether you want fewer meetings, whether you want more
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  breathing room. Write them down.
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  Tell your client in the nicest, warmest, most professionally
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  unprofessional way. These are your boundaries from
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  now on and stick to them. I know it's hard when we've been
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  actually letting clients go creep or overrun or take your
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  time for a really long time in some cases, but now is the time
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  to draw a line in the sand and these are your boundaries going
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  forward and this is what you expect.
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  For example, at ABCSUK we are open 9:30 to 2:30 Monday to
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  Friday around the school hours. We don't open for client facing
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  in August. We take off most school
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  holidays, we have office hours so that people can stay in touch
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  with us. So one hour a week in the summer
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  is specifically set aside for client communications.
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  Clients know from the outset that is what is happening, but
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  there was a point in time when that didn't happen and I had to
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  introduce that for my own sanity and my own health.
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  So even if you've been letting clients run wild for years, now
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  is the time to set those boundaries before the new year.
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  If you're going to send an e-mail out with your opening
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  hours over Christmas, it's great to include it in that e-mail
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  too. Just say Please note from
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  January this is what's happening.
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  Don't forget that boundaries are a business strategy, not a
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  personality trait. And nothing is worse than
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  starting a new year burnt out because you dragged 2025
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  behaviour into 2026. And finally #5 get your year end
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  plan in place. January feels overwhelming
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  because most people walk into it blindfolded, still half drunk on
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  bailers, still having chocolate for breakfast, and definitely
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  not ready to hit 2026 running. So here's your checklist.
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  What are your quarter one goals? They should be down now.
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  The first 90 days of 2026, January to March.
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  What are your quarter one goals? Do you have the numbers to
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  support those goals? Again, we're going back to #1 if
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  your bookkeeping is not up to date, how do you know that your
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  business has the numbers to support those goals?
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  What is the first offer you're selling in January?
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  For most bookkeeps and accountants, it's going to be
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  those last minute tax return services.
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  What does your cash flow look like for the next 60 days?
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  Remember that there's a lot of bank holidays between Christmas
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  and New Year, as well as everybody closing down.
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  So will suppliers pay you early? Will they pay late?
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  Are you paying your payroll early or late?
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  What does the next 60 days look like from a cash flow
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  perspective for you and your business?
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  Does anything need raising, removing or reworking Now that
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  can be pricing, that can be boundaries, that can be staff
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  members. Is there anything that needs to
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  come, needs to go, just needs a tweak?
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  And are you going to do that in Q1 of 2026?
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  And also look at what marketing channels actually worked in
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  2025? The marketing landscape changes
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  all the time, the algorithms change all the time, strategies
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  that work and don't work, and consumer behaviour changes all
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  the time. So have a look at what marketing
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  channels actually worked in 2025 and know that when you go into
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  2026, double down on what did work.
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  We'll be mindful of the fact that you may need to tweak that
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  and look around as 2026 behaviours kick in.
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  What are you repeating in Q1 and what are you retiring?
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  A plan doesn't need to be complicated, it just needs to
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  exist. Future you will genuinely thank
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  current you if you enter 2026 with a plan in place for the
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  quarter one. So those are the five things to
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  fix now or regret in January. 1 Get your bookkeeping up to date.
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  2 Review your pricing. 3 Audit your subscriptions and your
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  costs in your business and personally.
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  Four, set your boundaries and stick to them.
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  That's the really important bit, the stick into it bit.
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  And five, have your year end plan ready so that you can hit
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  2026 quarter one on the ground running.
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  Small steps now save you from massive stress in the new year.
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  I promise I've lived it, I've breathed it, I've done it
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  myself. Far too many Decembers and
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  January's. If you do need help with any of
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  this, the link to my Diaries in the show notes, and if you want
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  structured support systems and strategy for 2026 for
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  bookkeepers you already know, you're welcome inside the mildly
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  social community. Next week's episode is a great
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  guest episode of Natalie Edwards from Made in the Bottom Room.
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  I can't wait for you to hear it. You will not want to miss it.
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  If you found this helpful, please do like rate and review.
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  It takes 5 seconds and it helps more than you could possibly
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  know and help me reach more business owners who need this
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  kind of calm, clear guidance in their ears for 15 minutes every
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  Thursday. I will see you next week for the
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  next episode. Bye.
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  And that brings us to the end of another episode of the Three
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  Bees podcast. I hope you found it useful and
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  that you're walking away with some motivation, inspiration, or
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  education to help you build a Better Business.
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  Don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and of course, connect
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  with us on social media for more insights, tips, and behind the
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  scenes content. Your next step in building a
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  Better Business is just a click away.
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  I can't wait to connect with you and I'll see you on the next
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  episode. Bye.