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Hi Reader,

It’s the last full week of August, aka the Sundayest time of the year.

And while I’m still very much in summer mode and soaking up as much sun as possible, I can also feel the fall rush right around the corner.

September always seems to come with this collective urge to Get Serious™. New projects kick off. Calendars fill up. Everyone suddenly remembers the thing they wanted to launch before the end of the year.

So I’ve been using some of this slower summer energy to tackle the business stuff that’s very easy to leave on the back burner when client work gets busy.

If you can feel the fall rush coming too, here are a few things worth getting out of the way now.

1) Create or update your case studies

I have plenty of work I’m proud of, but turning that work into actual case studies requires going back to clients, collecting results and testimonials, and packaging everything up into something useful.

Lately, I’ve been reaching out to past clients with a short questionnaire:

• What problem were they trying to solve?
• What did you do?
• What changed?
• Do they have any numbers, feedback or other proof you can use?

Future You will be very grateful when you need to send a relevant case study to a lead and already have one ready to go.

2) Revisit the people already in your orbit

I’ve been checking in with cold leads, past clients and referral partners to reopen conversations, see what people are working on and remind them I exist.

Go through your inbox, CRM or wherever you keep track of leads. Look for conversations that fizzled out because the timing wasn’t right, past clients you’d love to work with again or referral partners you haven’t talked to in a minute.

And those people who said, “Circle back with me later this year”? Well…later this year is rapidly approaching.

3) Catch up on your bookkeeping

If your bookkeeping system currently involves a growing pile of things you swear you’ll deal with later, August is as good a time as any to deal with them.

Upload receipts. Categorize expenses. See what’s still outstanding.

This is also a good time to look at how the year is going financially. What have you earned so far? What’s already booked for fall? What still needs to come in before the end of the year?

4) Clean up your systems

Maybe your project management system has become a graveyard of overdue tasks. Or your Google Drive is starting to resemble the junk drawer in your kitchen.

Pick one or two recurring annoyances and fix them. Archive old projects, update your templates or clean up your folders.

A little less friction now will make things easier when fall gets busier.

5) Look at your fall capacity before you start filling it

Take a look at the next few months. What client work is already booked? What launches, events or personal commitments are coming up? And how much more work do you actually want?

Knowing that now makes it much easier to decide what deserves a yes later.

I still plan to remain firmly committed to summermaxxing for as long as the weather allows. My book and park blanket are staying in my tote bag.

But if you have a few quieter pockets this month, use them to close some loops, clear some digital clutter, and make your work life a little easier.

’Til next time!

Big (virtual) hugs,

✨ What’s happening inside The Reach

🗓️ Events worth leaving the house (or opening Zoom) for

👩🏾‍💻 What’s on your fall business to-do list?

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Jasmine Williams Media is a company founded and primarily operating within the ancestral, traditional and unceded territories of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples, also known as Toronto, Canada. This land is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.