The fourth quarter is upon us! For small businesses, that means it's time to start wrapping up the year and preparing for the next one. From the Bigfork Chamber of Commerce, here's a rundown of some of the most important things you should be doing to get ready for a successful fourth quarter.

Evaluate This Year’s Goals

The first order of business is to take a look back at the year and evaluate how well you've achieved your goals. This will help you determine what areas you need to focus on in the coming year.

Outline Next Year’s Goals

To establish your goals for the next year, start by looking at your performance over the past year. What went well? What could you have improved? Once you've identified areas of opportunity, set some specific goals that you can realistically achieve. For example, if you want to increase sales, set a target number that is achievable but challenging. Then, create a plan for how you will reach that goal. If marketing is an area that you need to improve, determine what type of campaigns will be most effective and allocate the budget accordingly. By taking the time to establish clear goals and develop a plan to achieve them, you can ensure that your small business is on track for success in the coming year.

Plan for Holiday Marketing

The holidays are a critical time for businesses, so it's important to have a solid marketing plan in place. What promotions are you going to run? How are you going to reach your target audience? Answering these questions will help ensure that your holiday marketing is successful.

Update Your Website and Social Media Accounts

Your website and social media profiles should be up-to-date and accurate. This is especially important if you're running any holiday promotions. Make sure your contact information is correct and that your hours of operation are accurate. You don't want customers showing up when you're closed!

Assess Your Inventory Levels and Supply Chain

Now is a good time to assess your inventory and make sure you have enough products or services on hand to meet customer demand. It's also a good time to review your supply chain and make sure everything is running smoothly. If there are any potential bottlenecks, now is the time to address them.

Review Your Accounting Practices

It's also important to review your accounting practices at this time of year. Are your books in order? Do you have all the documentation you need? This is also a good time to start thinking about tax season and what changes you need to make to be prepared.

Prepare for Tax Income Season

Tax season can be stressful, but it doesn't have to be. Start gathering all the necessary documentation now so that you're not scrambling come April. To help organize any digital documents you have, you can create PDFs from your existing documents using this PDF converter. This will make them easy to reference later. And if there are any changes you need to make to your tax strategy, now is the time to do it.

Revisit Your Business Structure

Finally, it's always a good idea to take a step back and reevaluate your business structure at this time of year. Are you still organized in the most efficient way possible? Are there any changes you need to make? Asking yourself these questions now will help ensure that your business runs smoothly in the coming year.

The fourth quarter is an important time for small businesses. There's a lot to do in order to wrap up the year successfully and prepare for the next one. By following the tips outlined above, you can ensure that your fourth quarter planning is on track and that your business is set up for success in the coming year!

Membership in the Bigfork Chamber of Commerce offers invaluable benefits to entrepreneurs in our community. Join us today!