Happy Monday.

It’s January 12th, 2026. You’ve got 19 days left in the month. Most business owners are still “planning” their year. Still mapping out goals. Still waiting for the perfect moment to start.

Meanwhile, the smart ones already started on January 2nd. They’re 10 days ahead. They’ve already fixed the leaks in their business that cost them six figures last year.

Here’s the thing nobody tells you about Q1: it’s not about setting goals. It’s about plugging holes.

Because if you’re doing $15-30K months right now and want to hit consistent six figures, you don’t need more traffic. You don’t need a rebrand. You don’t need another course on Facebook ads.

You need to stop hemorrhaging money from the leads you already have.

The Three Leaks Killing Your Revenue (And How to Plug Them This Week)

I audited 47 businesses in December. Every single one was losing money in the same three places. Not because they had bad offers. Not because their marketing sucked. But because they had zero systems between “lead comes in” and “money hits the bank.”

Leak #1: The No-Show Nightmare

Average no-show rate I’m seeing right now? 35-40%. That means if you book 10 calls this week, 4 people just won’t show up. No explanation. No reschedule. Just gone.

Let’s do the math on what that costs you:

But here’s what happens when you cut no-shows to 12% (which is totally doable):

That’s an extra $2K per week. $8 $8K per month. $96K per year. From the same traffic you already have.

The Fix (Takes 90 Minutes to Set Up):

You need a three-touch reminder sequence. Not one reminder. Not two. Three.

The key is the 2-hour reminder. That’s when people are making their afternoon decisions. That’s when they’re looking at their calendar and deciding what to bail on.

When they get that text at 2pm for a 4pm call, they mentally commit. No-show rate drops like a rock.

Leak #2: The Lead Capture Gap

Someone fills out your contact form at 11pm on a Tuesday. What happens next?

For most businesses, nothing until 9am the next day when someone checks email. Maybe.

That’s a 10-hour gap. In 2026, that’s a lifetime. Your lead has already talked to three of your competitors, watched five YouTube videos, and convinced themselves they can figure it out alone.

Speed to lead matters more than ever. Studies show you’re 100x more likely to connect if you respond in 5 minutes vs. 30 minutes. Not 100% more likely. One hundred TIMES more likely.

The Fix (Takes 2 Hours to Set Up):

Instant lead capture automation that runs 24/7:

This runs whether you’re awake or not. Whether you’re in a meeting or on vacation. The lead gets instant gratification, you get organized data, and nothing falls through the cracks.

I set this up for a client in December. Their lead-to-booking rate went from 23% to 61% in three weeks. Same traffic. Same offer. Just faster response time.

Leak #3: The Reporting Black Hole

Quick question: What was your revenue last week? What about cost per lead? Conversion rate? Average deal size?

If you had to open three different tabs and do math to answer those questions, you’ve got a reporting problem.

And here’s why it matters: you can’t scale what you can’t measure. When you don’t know your numbers in real-time, you make decisions based on feelings. “I think we had a good month.” “It feels like traffic is down.” “I’m pretty sure we’re profitable.”

Feelings don’t pay the bills.

The Fix (Takes 3 Hours to Set Up):

Weekly automated reporting that lands in your inbox every Monday at 8am:

This isn’t a 40-page analytics dump. It’s a one-page snapshot that tells you exactly what’s working and what’s not. You can read it in 90 seconds while drinking your Monday morning coffee.

The automation pulls data from your CRM, payment processor, and ad accounts. Formats it into a clean report. Emails it to you. Every single week. Without you lifting a finger.

Why January 2026 Is Different

Here’s what I’m seeing in the market right now:

Lead costs are up 40% compared to January 2025. Facebook CPMs are higher. Google Ads are more competitive. Organic reach is down across every platform.

Translation: it’s more expensive than ever to get a lead in the door.

Which means you literally cannot afford to waste them. Every lead that doesn’t show up is money on fire. Every lead that falls through the cracks is revenue you’ll never see. Every week you don’t know your numbers is a week you’re flying blind.

The businesses that win in 2026 won’t be the ones with the biggest ad budgets. They’ll be the ones with the tightest systems. The ones who convert 60% of their leads instead of 20%. The ones who show up in their leads’ inbox in 5 minutes instead of 5 hours.

That’s the game now.

The 19-Day Challenge

You’ve got 19 days left in January. Here’s what I want you to do:

Week 1 (This Week): Fix your no-show problem. Set up the three-touch reminder sequence. Track your no-show rate before and after.

Week 2 (Jan 19-25): Fix your lead capture gap. Set up instant response automation. Measure your lead-to-booking rate.

Week 3 (Jan 26-31): Fix your reporting black hole. Set up weekly automated reports. Start making decisions based on data instead of feelings.

Three weeks. Three systems. Each one takes less than a day to set up and will make you money for years.

By February 1st, you’ll have a business that runs tighter than 95% of your competitors. You’ll convert more leads, waste less time, and actually know what’s working.

Or you can keep “planning” and wonder why Q1 looks exactly like Q4 2025.

Want the Exact Automations?

I’ve packaged all three of these automations into a plug-and-play system. No-show prevention, instant lead capture, and weekly reporting. All the templates, all the workflows, all the setup instructions.

It’s called the Revenue Recovery Automation Pack. Normally $297. This week it’s $97.

You get:

Most people have this running in under 4 hours. Some do it in 2.

If you want it, comment AUTOMATE below, and I’ll send you the details.

Let’s make Q1 count.

- Dan