The end-of-quarter review: ten minutes to decide your next three months

A month is too short to tell whether something works: one bad week and the numbers look like a disaster. A year is too long: by the time you notice, you have spent months on a product that wasn't selling. The quarter sits in between, and it is the right rhythm for making decisions.

1. Look at three numbers, not thirty

Before the questions, the numbers. Three are enough, compared with the previous quarter and with the same quarter last year:

• income: how much came in;
• profit: how much was left after every expense;
• margin: profit divided by income, as a percentage.

The comparison with the same quarter last year matters more than the one with the previous quarter: October to December almost always beats July to September, thanks to the holidays. Comparing like with like saves you from celebrating or worrying for no reason.

2. What worked?

Write down the two or three things that brought results: a product, a channel, a client, a habit. Be specific: not "Instagram", but "short videos of the product in use".

What worked is the starting point for next quarter. Often the best move isn't inventing something new, but doing more of what already works.

3. What will you stop doing?

It is the hardest question and the most useful one. Every project piles up things that cost time and don't pay back: a product that sells once a month, a subscription you don't use, a social account you post on out of habit.

A practical rule: if a product hasn't sold for three quarters in a row, drop it. If it sells but ads eat the whole margin, rethink price or audience before you keep spending.

4. What will you focus on?

Pick one thing to push over the next three months, and turn it into one or two measurable goals: "50 units sold", "4 new clients", "3,000 euros of income". No more than that: with a few hours a week, three goals are already plenty.

A measurable goal tells you halfway through whether you are on track. If you are at 20% halfway through the quarter, there is no need to wait for the end to change something.

5. Write it all down, always in the same place

The review is worth twice as much if you can reread it a year from now. Keep the answers and the numbers together, quarter after quarter: after four reviews you will have the real story of your business, with its seasons, repeated mistakes and good calls.

In short

• Every three months, ten minutes.
• Three numbers: income, profit, margin, compared with the same quarter last year.
• Three questions: what worked, what you will stop, what you will focus on.
• One or two measurable goals for next quarter.
• Everything written in the same place, so you can reread it.