Hey Reader,

Earlier this week, I was catching up with a friend who wants to start her own business. She’s been thinking about it for a while - and while I don't want to give away her idea, I think she's got something that could be really big. When I asked about her plans, she told me that getting it started would be her number one priority in the new year.

So I asked her: why not start now?

She didn’t have a good answer, and I think a lot of us would be in the same spot. January feels clean. New calendar, new planner, new goals. It’s easy to treat January 1 as the day everything resets.

Your business doesn’t work on that schedule though, whether you’re starting one or growing one. The clients you sign in February come from conversations you have in November and December. The systems you want running smoothly in Q1 have to be built before Q1 starts. If you wait until January to start planning, January becomes your planning month, and the real work gets pushed to February or March.

For my friend, starting now doesn’t mean launching before the holidays. It means picking a name, registering the business, designing a logo, sketching out her offer, and talking to a few potential clients, so that on January 1 she’s ready to go, not just getting started.

Why fall is a better starting line

• Business often slows down. For a lot of us, November and December are quieter months in the business, even when life gets busier. That quieter stretch gives you room to think and build without fighting a full client calendar.
• You have a full year of information. You know what worked this year and what didn’t. That’s the best possible starting point for deciding what comes next.
• You get to start January ready to act. Instead of spending the first weeks of the year figuring out what to do, you’re already doing it.

I know this season is full on the personal side, especially for those of you in the U.S. heading into Thanksgiving and then the holidays. Starting now doesn’t mean overhauling everything before December. It can be as simple as an hour a week set aside for next year.

The same goes for the support you’ll need next year, including coaching.

I’ve had a few conversations lately with women who are excited to join the Real Women Real Business Mastery Program but want to wait until January. I understand the instinct.

But I’d also love for them to walk into January already settled in, with a few calls behind them and a clear sense of what they’re working on.

So I’m making it easier to start now...

Join the Real Women Real Business Mastery by October 31, and your 12 months won’t start until January 1, 2027.*

You get full access the day you join, and your membership runs all the way to December 31, 2027. That means:

• Extra group coaching calls. Every call between now and the end of the year is on top of the 24 calls included in your 12 months.
• Early access to everything else. Your Kolbe score, the training modules and resources, the Ask Shauna Lynn AI, and our Success Partners are all available right away, so you can do the groundwork in November and December.
• A January that starts with momentum. You’ll already know how the program works and what you’re focusing on, so the new year starts with action.

The investment is the same. You just get a head start, and the sooner you join, the longer that head start is.

I don’t discount this program (not even for Black Friday), so you won’t see a better offer for this program later in the year. If you’ve been thinking about joining, the best time is before October 31.

Your decision this week: Look at the list of things you’re planning to start in January. Pick one and ask yourself what it would take to lay the groundwork this month.

And if coaching is on that list, take a look at the RWRB Mastery Program here. If you’d like to talk it through first, you can book a call with me right from that page.

Looking for private 1:1 support? 1:1 spots open up every couple of months. The first thing we do together is build your roadmap, so the sooner we start, the sooner you’re acting on it. Book a call, and we’ll see about getting you started before January.

Talk soon,

Shauna Lynn Simon — CEO, SLS Coaching (866) 661-6711

THE BUSINESS COACH FOR ACCIDENTAL CEOS

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PS My friend took my advice and now has a list of 50 potential business names, and she’s started narrowing it down. Every small step is creating momentum and moving her closer to her goals. If there’s something on your January list, you don’t need a new calendar to begin. Join the RWRB Mastery Program by October 31, and your membership runs through December 31, 2027. Join here.​

*New members only