Writing about Q4 success sounds quite dry, but it’s an exciting time of year for me. I can’t be the only one who loves the fresh feel of September. It reminds me of the back-to-school days of long (long) ago when new exercise books and stationery awaited us. September is also my birthday month and the beginning of my absolute favourite season, autumn.

September marks the beginning of Q4. You either love Q4 or hate Q4. There is rarely anything in the middle. I’m a lover, not a fighter, and so I embrace the changing season alongside the weird and wonderful freelancing fun that comes with the autumn/winter season.

1) Q4 Success: Plan it Out

The best way to have a successful Q4 (and to start 2025 off the right way) is to plan it out. There are so many ways to plan a quarter out, but this is mine.

2) Fill Up My Google Calendar (or Notion Calendar)

I first mark out my Christmas break and any other time off on my calendar. Why do I do this first? Because of boundaries. September onwards tends to be very busy with often shorter deadlines than usual. I look forward to my annual Christmas season switch-off with the family and refuse to be knackered when it arrives.

3) Check Your Goals

If you have a master plan for the year, I am in awe. I am not that person. In fact, I’m a completely different person in Q4 than I was all the way back in Q1. I’ve lived and survived 8 full months at this point. That changes a person. I’m more of a quarterly and monthly goal planner.

4) Q4 Success – Check the Money Situation

What regular income do I have coming in? Am I happy with that amount? Is it enough? Big questions, how much is enough? I tend to maintain a core set of copywriting clients and projects. These are my regulars, my ongoing projects and retainer clients. These wonderful folks pay the bills and keep things comfortable. The ad-hoc projects that pop up pay for the sparkle money and any extra savings goals.

I use this highly technical formula to assess how much extra effort I need to put into marketing/pitching and so on. At this stage, I start speaking to previous clients and hustling up projects that should have already started. I’ve been known to hand over projects to other copywriters if I don’t have the capacity, but as I get a fairly steady stream of incoming enquiries, I’ll decide now which of these I’ll go for and which I’ll outsource.

5) For Q4 Success, You Need People

After years of grumbling that I don’t like people, I have to admit that I actually do like (some) people and enjoy their company. I have run a coworking group (since 2017), and this ensures that I regularly see others. I usually see my “work wife”, Gemma, twice a week, so I enjoy the hybrid of working from home with noise cancelling and remote working with people and better coffee. Q4 can sometimes be a rollercoaster. It’s sensible to have people nearby when you start to get dizzy.

6) Pull it all together (with a nod to Q1 2025)

At this point, I know my financial situation; my calendar has boundaries, and people coexist nicely. I’m clear on what I want and need to achieve, so I’m good to go.
Adding reminders in the calendar ensures I stay on top of things. I will also take a minute to make a mini plan for January. I don’t do New Year planning over the Christmas break, and I like to know what I’ve got to do for the first couple of weeks while having some flexibility there.

There you have it—my incredibly simple way of identifying what’s important and what isn’t, making sure the business is on track, everything is going the right way, and I am looking after myself, too.

It pays to check in with your business and yourself from time to time. Just make sure that your plans aren’t too rigid, because like doesn’t work that way. Always allow for flexibility, aka wiggle room, and, most importantly, time to pause and enjoy the new seasons.

However you plan for Q4 and whatever you have in those plans, have a good one!