July usually means vacations, sunshine, and the halfway point of the summer. July also means that we’re halfway through the year. Remember when you set goals for your business back in the 4th quarter of last year? That might feel like a long time ago, but now is the time to review them again.
Going through the mid-year business review and check-in process can help you finish the second half of the year strong. This also creates an opportunity to make any adjustments to set yourself up for success. First, let’s walk through why you need to perform this critical action and why it’s important to do it now. Then we’ll share the five-step process of completing this review.
Why Perform a Mid-Year Business Goal Review
While you may feel like you don’t have any spare time to sit down and work on your business, let us explain why a mid-year business review is worth your time. Performing this in-depth analysis of your business will help you fully understand where your business stands in reaching its goals and creates a roadmap to ensure you can achieve your goals.
The halfway point in the year is the perfect opportunity to perform this review. You still have time to make any winning adjustments and to course-correct any goals.
5-Step Mid-Year Business Review Process
1. Sales Goals - Review your month-over-month sales. Did you reach your monthly goal? If so, why do you think you did or didn’t? Do you need more customers? Which of your services or products sold the best? Is there a seasonality to your business?
2. Review Budget - How is your spending? Are you over or under in any categories? If you’re over, take a few minutes to review the expenses and make any notes as to why the overage occurred. Did anything unexpected come up? This solidifies the importance of having a budget as well as an emergency fund in your business.
3. Analyzing Profitability - Profitability is critical to your business growth. You won't be profitable if your sales are going well, but you’re overspending or have inefficient processes. Here you’ll find my 7-steps to increase your profitability. In a nutshell, while reviewing your overall sales and budget, look for areas of improvement.
4. Team Performance - Whether you have one team member or one thousand, reviewing team performance is a must. In fact, even if you are the only team member, you should still review your overall performance. Consider reviewing these three areas; customer satisfaction, efficiency, and knowledge. Reach out to past customers and ask for their feedback. If a team member specializes in an area, consider if they could benefit from additional training or certifications that will improve your overall service and product.
5. Management Analysis - Management analysis is often the unsung hero of reaching business goals. Management analysis is the process of analyzing the systems and workflows in your business to find areas for improvement. By making a few adjustments, you can boost the efficiency of a workflow, thus saving time and money while delivering your services or products to customers.
How to Adjust if You’re Short on Achieving Your Business Goals
What should you do if you’re working through this process and realize that you’re nowhere close to reaching your business goals? This could be for several reasons. Maybe inflation is impacting your business more than you expected. Or perhaps you had something come up in your personal life that affected your success. Or, maybe you’re just not sure.
No matter the reason, don’t lose hope or give up. Depending on your situation, you may need to simply adjust your goals for the rest of the year, or it might be time to bring in an expert to help you navigate the path to success.
Business Growth Consultant Near Portsmouth, NH
There are many reasons why working with an expert can help your business reach its goals. Having your business finances and processes reviewed by a trained professional can find any hiccups or issues that you might not be able to see. Lighthouse Advisory works with businesses near Portsmouth, NH, and across the United States to help them achieve their business goals. Take action today and schedule your complimentary business growth consultation here.
