Believe it or not, we’re in the second half of 2018! It’s a great time to evaluate how the year’s gone so far, compare to what you planned at the start of the year, and re-do your plan for the rest of the year. Mid year planning can be the turning point for your business.
For the record, I didn’t do phenomenally well at my 2018 New Year’s resolutions. About the only thing I fully kept to was being better at sales. Ah well.
Reflect on what’s happened
How’s your 2018 gone so far? You should take some time to actually reflect on it. It’s important to make plans but it’s even more important to check in on them and adjust. No plan survives first contact with the enemy (or reality!).
It’s important to approach it from both a business and personal perspective. After all, they’re not one and the same even if it can feel like it sometimes. In this we’ll discuss the business side.
So, are you where you projected you would be? Did you finish the tasks you set out for yourself for the first half of the year? What went well? What could be improved upon?
I like actually writing down my reflections. This not only helps me focus on them but also gives me something I can refer back to later. Over time, it gives me an idea of if I’m overly optimistic or pessimistic. Additionally, it helps me not misremember what I originally set out to do.
Look ahead
Ok, now that you have your retrospective done it’s time to look forward. When you set goals at the start of the year you had less information than you do now. It’s time to adjust!
For instance, I had sales numbers for my business for the year. Now that I’m in the middle of the year I can adjust my expectations to perhaps be more accurate to reality. I’ll also do the same thing with my revenue and expense projections.
What do you hope to accomplish the rest of the year? What would be meaningful milestones? How do you get there? Now that you have the time and information to re-evaluate, you should.
If you’ve not done it before this would also be a great time to make a business plan. I’ve written about business plans before. They’re not that hard to do and it’s never too late to start one! You’d be doing yourself, and your business, a disservice if you don’t work on your plan.
Conclusion
While it’s important to make plans at the start of the year it’s also important to adjust those plans to match reality. After all, you have more information now! Take time to look back on what you’ve done and look forward to what you’ll do the rest of the year. After all, it’s over halfway through the year!
You don’t have to figure this out alone. This is what we do- help streamers make great money decisions. If that’s something that sounds interesting to you reach out me or schedule some time for a free consult. You can check out what I do here.
