How to Hit Q1 Running
Q1 has a way of telling the truth.
If last year’s systems were shaky, January will expose them fast. And most leaders walk into the new year thinking, “Once things settle down, I’ll get ahead.”
You won’t.
Things don’t settle down. They never have.
If you want Q1 to be different, you have to start differently. Here’s how to hit the ground running instead of stumbling into the same old patterns.
1. Get brutally honest about what didn’t work.
Pull up your last year. Look at it without excuses.
Ask yourself:
What actually created results?
What did we keep doing simply because we’ve always done it?
What did we pour time and money into with nothing to show for it?
Most organizations keep feeding dead systems because no one wants to call time of death. Calling it now saves you months of wasted energy later.
2. Pick one primary goal for Q1. JUST One.
Most teams take all the good ideas from Q4, tape them to a whiteboard, and call it planning.
It’s not planning. It’s chaos with bullet points.
Choose one thing that would make everything else easier if you fixed it:
Clean up your funnel
Tighten your messaging
Improve donor or customer retention
Create a real communication rhythm
Q1 rewards focus. Spread yourself thin and it’s over before February hits.
3. Audit your communication system before you “strategize.”
Here’s the real problem for most organizations:
They’re not ineffective — they’re misaligned.
Messages go out in pieces. Out of order. To the wrong people. With the wrong emphasis. It’s like trying to run a playbook while half the team is on mute.
Map your funnel:
Awareness → Engagement → Conversion → Retention
Then ask: Where are people disappearing?
Fix that first.
(And if you don’t know where to look, Fix Your Funnel Fast walks you through it in under 72 hours.)
4. Make everything easier for your audience.
Everyone you serve is overloaded. If the next step requires too much thought, they won’t take it.
Simplify everything you can:
Shorter emails
Cleaner designs
Clearer CTAs
Fewer choices
Landing pages that focus on one thing
Every ounce of friction slows you down. Q1 is about removing drag.
5. Build a 30-day rhythm instead of a 12-month fantasy.
Let’s be honest: most annual plans die around January 17.
Reality always interrupts.
So think in 30-day cycles:
What’s the one target this month?
What are the top three actions that get us there?
What are we measuring?
Thirty days keeps you honest. It’s long enough to matter but short enough to stay accountable.
6. Start something that forces momentum.
If you want Q1 to feel different, give yourself something that requires forward motion.
A few ideas:
Launch a new lead magnet
Ship a small paid product
Start a weekly content cadence
Fix your lowest-scoring funnel stage
Implement the first piece of the Core4 Framework
Progress creates clarity.
Clarity creates confidence.
Confidence creates growth.
7. Don’t wait for perfect. Ship something.
Perfection is where good ideas go to die.
The teams who win Q1 don’t win because they’re smarter or better funded — they win because they actually ship something. They test. They iterate. They keep moving.
Waiting never made an impact. Action does.
If you want a simple place to start…
Download Fix Your Funnel Fast.
It’ll help you see exactly where your engagement is leaking and what to fix first.
And if you want the full system? The Core4 Framework book is on the way. It’ll help you cut through the fog and grow with purpose.
Q1 is here. Let’s run.
