Mid-Year Review

We are almost halfway through Calendar Year 2023 and it seems like time is flying by. Did anything happen to all of those wonderful plans hatched in January? Or, like resolutions, did they taper off as reality set in? Either way, June is a great time to take a look back to take a look forward by doing a mid-year review.

A mid-year review is a critical and unemotional look at where you are in your business and what you want to accomplish for the rest of the year. A mid-year review does not have to be an ordeal. There is no need to create an excessive amount of information, unless your business sector requires such. The goal is not to drill down to the nth degree of specificity, but to track where you thought you would be versus where you are, then address the gap.

FYI- you can use the Entrepreneurial Wheel to develop your own categories and do a visual look of where you are vs. where you want to be. ( https://pivottbc.com/media-and-tools )

As a business owner, you know your numbers (we hope!). Revenues, profits, expenses, personnel count, client demographics, bookings, etc. We can break a few of these down and start the review process.

1, Revenues

• Are my revenues on track to meet my annual goal? If not, why? What is working and what is not?
• Are my revenues sporadic or consistent and why?
• Are my revenues skewed toward one type of service or product and is there a market shift that I need to acknowledge in the projections going forward?
• Am I charging enough? Where can I adjust?

2. Expenses

• Where am I spending money? Are these expenses necessary and aligned to my business strategy? Where can I scale back? Where do I invest more?
• Am I able to meet my financial obligations? If not, what is my plan?
• Do I have liquidity after I pay my monthly obligations? If not, what is my plan?
• Did I include all expenses or are there hidden expenses that I don't see immediately? Are these necessary?

3. Clients

• Do you have enough clients for what you want to accomplish? If not, what is the plan?
• Am I charging each client enough to meet my goals? Where can I adjust?
• Am I aligned with my client and their goals? Are my clients aligned with me and my values? Are these the people/organizations with whom I choose to interact and provide services for? If not, why and who else?
• Am I giving the best service I can or is there something else I could be doing for them?

It takes some thinking. A mid-year review is not only financial. It is for your entire business. But don't take this as an out for not knowing your numbers! You don't have a business without revenues and you cannot stay in business without profits. Financial performance tracking is critical, just not for this exercise.

Looking at and critically thinking about the direction of your business is equally as important as knowing the dollars and cents. This is where you can look objectively to weed out what is not working and plant new ideas that will work. Everything does not need to stay the same all of the time. However, don't change just for the sake of changing. Take the time to think deeply about what your customers and market need and how your skills can add value to this. The important thing is to start thinking about the next step.

As you grow, your business grows. So now is the time to lay the foundation from which to build upon.

Do you need help in starting to review your business? If you are experiencing difficulty or stagnation in your business, please reach out to me at [email protected].