Latest / Smart Business Growth with Nicky Miklós / 7 Steps to End of Year Success!

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7 Steps to End of Year Success! · Smart Business Growth with Nicky Miklós

• 0:06
  Speaker: Hello and welcome to this week's episode, and also welcome to the official run home to Christmas.
• 0:33
  Speaker: Now, having worked in large, large corporation, sales teams, fast-paced environments, one thing that I always remember is this run home to Christmas.
• 0:44
  Speaker: When I left corporate, it was the same in businesses, whether it was solo owners or bigger businesses.
• 0:50
  Speaker: And the run home to Christmas is that chaotic time, that push to the end of the year where we have got revenue targets that we're wanting to chase.
• 0:59
  Speaker: We have got things going on inside of work, outside of work.
• 1:02
  Speaker: It's award season, it's social season about to kick in, all those sorts of things.
• 1:08
  Speaker: And just life in general.
• 1:09
  Speaker: It's like everything in business and life escalates at this time of year.
• 1:14
  Speaker: And that is what the run home to Christmas is, my friends.
• 1:17
  Speaker: And so today, what I really wanted to share with you is a few key tips.
• 1:21
  Speaker: I've got, well, I've written them down on this poster note here.
• 1:24
  Speaker: I was thinking, what do I know works in terms of setting ourselves up for success amongst all of this chaos?
• 1:31
  Speaker: And when I say set ourselves up for success, I'm talking about setting your December self up for success.
• 1:37
  Speaker: I want you to be looking back in December or January or February or all of those months and thinking, you know what?
• 1:43
  Speaker: I'm really glad I listened to that podcast episode.
• 1:46
  Speaker: And I'm really glad I implemented the seven key things that Nikki talked about.
• 1:50
  Speaker: Because I know already some of the conversations are about, my gosh, we're in November and I don't even know how I'm going to get the goals from my pop, from my wig, my, you know, quarterly goals done.
• 2:02
  Speaker: So we've got to get really smart and strategic and also put some things in place that actually future-proof our calendar, our time and space and guard that.
• 2:12
  Speaker: Again, so the future you is going to be thanking us for having this conversation now.
• 2:17
  Speaker: I'm going to dive straight into what these seven key things are.
• 2:22
  Speaker: Now, the first three or four of them are really about planning in your calendar.
• 2:27
  Speaker: So if you can, of course, if you're driving, please don't do this.
• 2:30
  Speaker: But if you're near your computer, near your phone, pull up your calendar.
• 2:33
  Speaker: And if you're not, then maybe come back to do these steps.
• 2:36
  Speaker: We want to really think about what are the meetings that you want to have in place for December, January, and February.
• 2:44
  Speaker: So this could be your nurture meetings.
• 2:46
  Speaker: This could be your client nurture, key stakeholders.
• 2:49
  Speaker: There sometimes is a bit of an aversion of A, trying to book meetings in with other people at this time, because we're all experiencing the run home to Christmas.
• 2:57
  Speaker: But sometimes you'll be surprised at the answer and the response to asking for those meetings, depending on what, of course, the meeting is.
• 3:05
  Speaker: But also don't be afraid of booking it into the new year, into January, February, even March.
• 3:10
  Speaker: And that's where there's a bit of an aversion sometimes of scheduling those meetings in advance.
• 3:14
  Speaker: But you and the person that you're catching up with are probably going to be grateful that it's in the calendar.
• 3:20
  Speaker: You don't have to think about it.
• 3:21
  Speaker: And at the end of the day, you can always move it.
• 3:23
  Speaker: You know, it can always be rescheduled.
• 3:25
  Speaker: And when we think smart business growth, this is absolutely setting your future self up for success because you're not going to be scrambling in the new year for your nurture meetings, your client meetings.
• 3:35
  Speaker: So that's the first thing in your calendar.
• 3:37
  Speaker: Um, but also think about your list of who you can contact.
• 3:40
  Speaker: Second thing, while you've got your calendar open, schedule those 2026 holidays, my friends.
• 3:46
  Speaker: Seriously, when you put your holidays in well in advance, it means that the work, those client meetings that you're setting, all of the other stuff will fit around it.
• 3:57
  Speaker: When you don't set your holidays into the calendar a year in advance, what happens?
• 4:03
  Speaker: We know we've all been there.
• 4:04
  Speaker: Work and everything else consumes the diary.
• 4:07
  Speaker: And then it's really hard to actually fit in and schedule in those holidays.
• 4:11
  Speaker: Now's the time to do it so that nothing else can get in the way.
• 4:15
  Speaker: Now, you are scheduling it quite a way in advance if you're scheduling, you know, to the end of next year.
• 4:20
  Speaker: You can always move it, but the rule of thumb is that you do not cancel the holidays in your calendar.
• 4:26
  Speaker: Because I'm talking actually block it out so everybody can see.
• 4:29
  Speaker: You can move it.
• 4:30
  Speaker: If something comes up, you know, this year I had to change, I had some holidays booked into July.
• 4:34
  Speaker: There was some really great client work that I wanted to do in July.
• 4:37
  Speaker: So I moved it.
• 4:38
  Speaker: I didn't cancel it.
• 4:40
  Speaker: That's a really, really good little tip to make sure you're still prioritizing those holidays.
• 4:45
  Speaker: If somebody else is approving your leave, just speaking to the leaders, still get some time blocked in your calendar until it's approved.
• 4:51
  Speaker: And you can always move it if that preferred time doesn't get approved.
• 4:55
  Speaker: And make sure you get those approvals in ASAP.
• 4:57
  Speaker: So you're gonna set up some meetings for December, January, February.
• 5:00
  Speaker: You're gonna get your holidays in your calendar so you work around that.
• 5:03
  Speaker: But you're also going to lock in life stuff.
• 5:07
  Speaker: What is life stuff?
• 5:09
  Speaker: I mean, it could be the more sensible, kind of boring, but really important stuff, like your skin check, your dentist.
• 5:15
  Speaker: I know sometimes this is a good time of year for people to schedule that sort of stuff in, even if it's later on in the year.
• 5:21
  Speaker: Uh, that might not be the most important aspects, but it's a good reminder to do those things.
• 5:26
  Speaker: But really, lock-in life stuff is also about locking in lunch with your bestie, locking in those date nights.
• 5:33
  Speaker: We know that the next few months, or at least the next couple of months, the chaos tends to be escalated.
• 5:39
  Speaker: So, what can you put in your calendar, invite them, share with somebody?
• 5:42
  Speaker: I'd love to go to the movies, put it in the calendar and invite them.
• 5:46
  Speaker: The more of this stuff you have in place, you have in your calendar, the more likely it is to happen.
• 5:52
  Speaker: So lock in your life stuff, your fun stuff.
• 5:55
  Speaker: It could also be locking in me time.
• 5:57
  Speaker: A quick interruption to this podcast episode.
• 6:00
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• 6:04
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• 6:10
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• 6:18
  Speaker: All you have to do is head down to the show notes and click the link below.
• 6:22
  Speaker: Now, number four, no-go zones.
• 6:27
  Speaker: Everyone here knows that I love a good no-go zone.
• 6:30
  Speaker: And what I mean by that is it's getting really intentional about times in your day, in your week, in your month that you're actually blocking out.
• 6:38
  Speaker: It's a no-go zone.
• 6:40
  Speaker: So, for example, it could be working before a certain time of day.
• 6:43
  Speaker: It could be not working late more than two nights in a row.
• 6:48
  Speaker: If you have to because it's a peak period, what's your no-go zone?
• 6:51
  Speaker: It could be I don't work late two nights in a row.
• 6:54
  Speaker: That's managing your optimal energy, but you're still leaning in and doing what you need to to get the work done.
• 7:00
  Speaker: A no-go zone could be not working on the weekends.
• 7:03
  Speaker: A no-go zone could be my lunch break is a no-go zone because that's me time to step away from the computer or away from people and my team and actually just get some energy back, depending if you get energized from being around people or being solo.
• 7:18
  Speaker: So think about what is your no-go zone.
• 7:20
  Speaker: A no-go zone could be a social event that you have to do because you know that you get energized from that.
• 7:26
  Speaker: So get really clear on your no-go zone.
• 7:28
  Speaker: And that's when you can also come back to your earlier points around lock-in life stuff.
• 7:32
  Speaker: There might be some uh connection there as well.
• 7:36
  Speaker: Now, calendar work is done.
• 7:38
  Speaker: We're putting that to the side.
• 7:40
  Speaker: The fifth thing you can do is sort out your client gifts, ASAP.
• 7:43
  Speaker: If you're in the business of doing client gifts or thank you cards or Christmas cards, get that sorted now.
• 7:51
  Speaker: There's nothing worse than getting to December and thinking, oh my gosh, I haven't done it.
• 7:55
  Speaker: I need to think about it.
• 7:56
  Speaker: The post is going to be clogged up and busy.
• 7:59
  Speaker: Now's your time to just take that off the list and get it done.
• 8:02
  Speaker: And always think, what's the simplest, easiest way to do that?
• 8:06
  Speaker: Number six, get your Christmas Lego out and start working on it now.
• 8:11
  Speaker: This is a bit of an odd one.
• 8:12
  Speaker: Now, for the Lego fans out there, you'll get this.
• 8:15
  Speaker: But if you're not a Lego fan, stick with me.
• 8:18
  Speaker: Jules and I love doing Christmas Lego.
• 8:20
  Speaker: We've got a few cool, you know, quite complex setups.
• 8:23
  Speaker: We love getting it done before Christmas and then it forms part of the Christmas decorations in the house.
• 8:28
  Speaker: But last year we didn't do the Lego.
• 8:31
  Speaker: And we didn't do the Lego because we didn't pull it out early enough.
• 8:34
  Speaker: And it takes time, you know, by the time we're on holidays in December, it's going to be January, and there's no point in having the Lego Christmas out, Christmas things, you know, Christmas tree and all those things out.
• 8:45
  Speaker: So the lesson that I took out of that that we can apply in anything, any area is what is the Lego that you want to make sure you don't leave too late?
• 8:55
  Speaker: What is the thing that you want to do that maybe brings you joy or it's important to you, but you missed out on it last time or last year or the last couple of years because you got too busy.
• 9:05
  Speaker: That's what this is really about.
• 9:07
  Speaker: You know, this is something that we love doing, but the point was we got too busy, we forgot about it, and then it was the next year already.
• 9:15
  Speaker: So, what is your metaphorical Lego, even if it's not actual Lego?
• 9:20
  Speaker: That thing that you don't want to miss out on because you get too busy and put that on the table.
• 9:24
  Speaker: So our Lego boxes are sitting on the table.
• 9:27
  Speaker: We're getting started on it this weekend.
• 9:29
  Speaker: What is the Lego box that you need to put on the table so it's visible?
• 9:33
  Speaker: Again, might connect to some of those earlier points.
• 9:35
  Speaker: Do you need to talk to somebody?
• 9:37
  Speaker: Do you need to lock it in?
• 9:38
  Speaker: Do you need to put in your calendar or just put it somewhere where it won't get overlooked?
• 9:42
  Speaker: I'm curious, reach out to me and let me know what your Lego is.
• 9:45
  Speaker: If it is actual Lego or if it's a metaphorical Lego.
• 9:48
  Speaker: And then number seven on this post-it note list of seven things to really keep an eye on and do to set your future December, January, uh, February self up for success.
• 10:00
  Speaker: Is have you started thinking about the evolution or the what next or the phase of your business for 2026?
• 10:07
  Speaker: Now, this is a bigger one.
• 10:09
  Speaker: We know that this is a time of chaos.
• 10:11
  Speaker: I just talked about the run home to Christmas.
• 10:13
  Speaker: The pressure is on with social events, things that we're committed to, hitting targets.
• 10:18
  Speaker: So you might not have capacity to get on that balcony of your business right now.
• 10:23
  Speaker: But again, you might want to think about when you can do that.
• 10:26
  Speaker: Is it in the downtime over the new year Christmas period?
• 10:30
  Speaker: You know, there's this whole thing around we stop at the end of the year.
• 10:33
  Speaker: But what if we challenge that thinking?
• 10:36
  Speaker: And instead, the end of the year might be an opportunity to reset and refresh, but we don't stop.
• 10:41
  Speaker: We recalibrate so we can continue.
• 10:44
  Speaker: Now, for the people who are entering their peak period at this time, it might not be a time to reset and recalibrate.
• 10:51
  Speaker: For you in that case, these seven things are just as equally, if not more important, but it's also about thinking when will you schedule these things?
• 11:00
  Speaker: So the evolution or the what next or what does 2026 look like?
• 11:04
  Speaker: I'm going to get you to pull out your calendar again and actually realistically consider and look at and get a number in your mind of how many days you have left in the business for this year.
• 11:16
  Speaker: Do you have capacity and time to put in the evolution piece, the thinking about what's next, what does 20 seconds, what do I want 2026 to look like?
• 11:24
  Speaker: And if you don't, when will you schedule that for January and February?
• 11:29
  Speaker: Really evaluate what you've committed to to the end of the year versus how much time you have to do it.
• 11:35
  Speaker: And I would say do that literally as point seven, because then you've got things in the calendar that are really important to you, like no-go zones, lock-in-life stuff, the holidays, all of those key things.
• 11:47
  Speaker: And then you get a really good understanding of what space is left.
• 11:50
  Speaker: So I'm gonna leave this with you.
• 11:52
  Speaker: There might be some things on this list of seven that you're like, yeah, yep, I've done that.
• 11:56
  Speaker: Beautiful.
• 11:56
  Speaker: Tick, checked off the list.
• 11:58
  Speaker: This is your checklist to set your future self up for success.
• 12:02
  Speaker: If you've got done nothing off this list, maybe choose one thing with the goal of working through that list.
• 12:08
  Speaker: Uh and if you've done a few things, again, still pick one thing because guaranteed, I've been doing this for a while.
• 12:14
  Speaker: And these are the key things that will help you.
• 12:17
  Speaker: Uh, really look to December, January, February, and look back and go, oh, so glad.
• 12:22
  Speaker: Thank you, you did this.
• 12:23
  Speaker: As always, reach out to me and let me know what you're actioning, what you're implementing.
• 12:28
  Speaker: And I look forward to seeing you next week.
• 12:30
  unknown: Bye.