It is July and that means that we’re halfway through the year and it’s a great opportunity to do not just a quarterly review, but also a mid-year review. There’s still plenty of time to hit your goals for this year!
In this week’s episode, I help you…
- Review your results so far for this year, including actual vs target revenue, wins, and lessons learned
- Set yourself up for success in the next 3-6 months with a clear idea of what you want to stop, start, and continue
- Plan the next quarter in terms of target revenue, priority projects, and monthly milestones
Make sure you grab a pen and paper and tune in to review where you are and finish the year strong.
*Resources mentioned during the episode*
The Outsiders Business Incubator – A mentoring programme focused on implementation support and accountability to help you grow your expert business faster – without sacrificing your personal life to do so. onestepoutside.com/grow
Mid-year review
Hello, welcome back to the podcast. My name is Anna Lundberg, and we are into July, which means we’re into the second half of this year. And that means I don’t do this every year. But this year, I am back for a mid year review. And this will double up a little bit as a quarterly review as well. Depending on how clear and strategic you’ve been this year, so far, you can be very robust in of course, checking how you’ve done against those goals and that plan, or you can do a bit more of a sense check of where you are. Now, I talked so often about why this is important. And hopefully, because you’re listening to this, you agree with me, and you’re bought into this already.
But you know, some years, a couple of come to mind 2018, I had three big goals that by the way, I tried to do all at once. And then I realized that wasn’t such a good idea. And I spread them out over the year and I focus single mindedly on one at a time. But 2018 I wanted to launch my first group program, I wanted to write and publish my book, I know you can already hear it’s a bit ambitious. And just to make matters worse, I want to launch my podcast as well. Now, since you’re listening to this, you know that I did launch my podcast. And in fact, I launched it just in time, December 2018.
I launched my first group program, which is now the business incubator in February 2018 was the first cohort at that time.
And I published my first book, leaving a corporate nine to five September that year. But that was a big year. For me, I had three really clear goals and I achieved them. Last year 22 was also a big year. And I only had the one goal because I learned my lesson. And I only work three days a week and I have the kiddos. Now, I have a four year old and a two year old in case you don’t know that. And last year, I had the book, my second book outside now, yes, outside the nine to five, so many books, I just don’t remember what they’re called outside the 95, which I launched in December. So again, right at the end of the year, but there you go was a soft launch.
And then I had the proper, big hoopla, if you can call it that this year in 2023. So there are some years when you have a really clear intention. And those years are the big years, when you really achieve something big, that’s just guaranteed. You know, there are all sorts of stats on people who make New Year’s resolutions and how few people achieve them and so on. But you have to have a goal in order to achieve it, that’s just a given. Some years are a little bit more sort of fly by the seat of your pants just kind of go with the flow. And that’s okay. And I’m gonna be honest, this year was a little bit like that, for me, it’s sort of seasonal for me a little bit roller coaster free, although intentional, because if I have a big year one focus is quite nice to have a bit more of a kind of consolidation, maybe one year is right, I’m gonna really sign up, I’m gonna invest in this big I’ve done this before as well mentoring program, really go hard follow this expert that I’m working with.
And then the next year is probably consolidation, maybe not working with a coach that year, maybe more implementing what you’ve learned and so on.
And you know, so there is really sort of a seasonality to this. But if you are looking and we talked last month about the the big breakthrough, if you’re looking for that big breakthrough, then you need to get clear on what that breakthrough is. And you need to have a plan to achieve it. So having that goal is pretty important. Now, if we’re looking back, first of all, and you might want to grab a pen and paper, you can of course pause me as and when you want to or you can just listen, let my words wash over you and come back to it later. If maybe you’re driving or running or whatever it is you’re doing right now. If you look back over the last six months, if you did, of course, again, have a clear plan with goals, then you can see where you are you now on track or off track. So if you’ve gone into, as I hope you have, but don’t worry, if you haven’t, I’ll help you.
If you have financial targets for every month this year, so far, you can very easily see okay, on track off track.
Now, it might feel like if you know you’ve only just started looking at this now, you set yourself goals and you haven’t really looked at them since EAC. Six months have passed, you’re totally off track, then yes, obviously, we need to adjust our course for the rest of the year. But don’t feel like oh, there’s no point. Now I’m just going to give up because I’ve not hit it. So I’m not going to hit my 2023 target. First of all, you can absolutely shift things around and make things happen. And secondly, that attitude doesn’t help anyone, right. So even if, let’s say and I’m making up just for the numbers, I mean, it’s 120k is just a round number, isn’t it because then it’s 10k a month, let’s say just arbitrarily, if you haven’t made any money, worst case scenario the last six weeks, six months even then obviously, suddenly, you’re going to have to hit 20k months, the next six months. And if you’re starting at zero, that’s probably not realistic.
You need to be ramping up. But if you now give up entirely pull back from all your actions and don’t do anything, you’re just delaying your results by an additional six months. So it’s just a little bit of mindset of of you know, don’t don’t be hard on yourself. There are reasons why you haven’t hit your goals. Maybe you didn’t have the support in place, maybe personal things have been happening, work has been busy, there have been illnesses and so on, right? There’s no point in being annoyed at yourself now. Just take a breath. Show yourself some compassion and just if you do want different results commit now to making different things happen taking different action. So maybe you Haven’t got clear goals in place, in which case, you can do more of a sense check, oh, I’m feeling really off track. Now I’m going to set clear goals for the next six months. And again, if you did have really clear goals, you can do a really more concrete tangible check of where you are.
So a few questions that you want to be asking yourself high level, of course, what is your actual versus your target revenue. So that’s, you know, the 10k that you put per month or whatever it is. And again, if you’re starting from zero, maybe the first month is, you know, 500, for your first client, the second month is 1000. The third month is 2000, whatever that looks like, and don’t take these numbers, it’s completely made up on the spot. And so what’s your actual versus your target revenue? What are your wins, and this could be income related, it could be, you know, your first client, your first 10 clients, it could be getting your first media coverage during your first keynote talk, running your first webinar, and whatever it is, right? What’s your when publishing a book launching a podcast, depending on your on the business? And then the other side of the coin? What are your lessons learned? So maybe you’re too ambitious in your goals that you set? Maybe you you know, need to start prepping earlier for a launch that you did? Or maybe you need to be reaching out to more people to hit the numbers, you’re just not getting enough people, whatever that is, right? What are your lessons learned?
And then finally, what do you want to stop, start continue?
We did this at in my corporate days, what do you need to stop doing? And it could be, you know, chasing after shiny objects. Or it could be that you’ve been following some rubbish strategy of like, jumping into people and spamming them in their Facebook groups, or whatever it is, you know, that just isn’t working, don’t want to be doing. It’s just taking lots of time. It’s not very nice. And you want to stop doing that. What do you want to start doing? That’s new strategies, I want to start pitching the media, I want to start working on my group program. I want to whatever it is, right, start working on elevating my personal brand, obviously, the more specific you can be the better. And then what do you want to continue doing so things that either it’s too soon to tell if they’re working, or they they are working, you’ve got the basics in place, it’s been going really well and you want to continue? You need to continue doing that. So what do you under stop, start and continue. So that’s reviewing the last either quarter, I like to do this quarterly or because we’re halfway through the year, you can do it now for the last six months, if you haven’t already.
Actual as a target revenue, wins, lessons learned, and what do you want to stop, start, continue? Pause if you want to, and have a go at doing that exercise. Again, if you just want to listen, then you can keep going. Or if you’ve done that, well done. Don’t, don’t be hard on yourself. If you haven’t hit your goals and so on. You know, hopefully, you’re getting some insights now that can change things up for you. And if you have hit your targets and exceeded them, amazing. Congratulations. That’s so exciting.
So looking ahead, of course, we want to set another target revenue for the next quarter.
And if you want for the next six months as well, by the way, my tax year goes from April to two. How on April to March is the 12 months later. So what am I am now just one quarter into my year. And so you know, it depends on how that works. I also sometimes do calendar years, it’s nice to do both. And some people do you know September start, because that’s kind of the back to school era. So whatever works for you, is arbitrary all of it right, human beings have just made up these calendars. So But nonetheless, quarters, I think work really well. Because 90 days is a really good period to take action and to see results. So let’s say we’re looking for the next quarter, what’s your target revenue for the next three months? What’s your big priority for this quarter? So is it launching a program? Is it getting your website up? If that’s a new thing? Is it you know, revising your business model clarifying your positioning, you know, whatever it is getting your x y Zed material together? Is it you know, growing your network on LinkedIn? What’s your priority for the quarter? And then what’s the number one thing that will make the biggest difference? So if you’re launching a group program that say what’s the biggest thing? What is it that you really absolutely have to do to do that? Is it having conversations with people? Is it you know, reaching out to your warm leads that you had in the past? Is it you know, really nurturing your email list or your group or whatever it is, you know, what’s the one thing out of all the hundreds of things that you think you need to be doing? What’s the one thing that make the biggest difference? So you’ve got your big priority? What you one thing then what are your monthly milestones, you’ve got July, August, September, again, if you want to do this for the year, by all means, but obviously we lose control after a few months. So I’d say start with July, August, September.
And of course, it’s a bit of a funny period if you’re in the northern hemisphere, because I know some of you are listening down under that I did like an American time for that. I won’t attempt an Australian or a New Zealand accent. August here, at least in Europe, in particular is a holiday month, right? Personally, I’ve got a week off in July with the family week off in August, actually two weeks off in August. So it does, you know, it’s easy to feel like oh, you know, there’s not a lot going on. So that could be your priority as well. All right, take a step back, we tried to dial back content and so on, I’ve sometimes you know, push, push, push and done the same amount. But I think it’s important that I role model that I’m also taking time off. And I don’t want you to think that I’m posting manically while I’m away, because that’s not the case, it’s all scheduled or my system is doing it for me. So that could be the case for you.
If you’ve got time off, then obviously, the time off could be a priority family time.
And it could be that you know, you don’t have any clients right now. And that’s okay, it’s on purpose, because they’re all off. And so you know, your corporates are off on holiday, Italy, I think shuts down entirely France in August. So you can do some of the backend stuff, the operations, the website tweaks, financials, admin stuff, right, all the backend automations review your systems, whatever, September’s bit of back to school, and this year, for the first time, I have a child who is starting school, the first couple of weeks, she’s only part time. So that’ll be interesting. But at the same time, you know, that’s a change for me, after the holidays, maybe your clients coming back with their kids to school as well, it is a big time for corporate after the summer break as well. So if you’re b2b. And so you know, September, it could be a funny quarter, July, August a bit slower. And then September is really big. So maybe now the priority in July is to kind of close the deals with the companies you’re working with, so that you’re ready for September, have conversations with your individual clients and prospects now, again, so that they can reflect or that or you sort of get a deposit maybe now to get started in September, whatever it is, right. But it’s just thinking about the different months, you’re not necessarily going to make, let’s say those 10k Every month, January to December, right?
It could be that you make 30k in September, since we’re using these arbitrary numbers and nothing in August, who knows. So it’s looking at ahead of that. So target revenue for the quarter priority. Number one thing that’ll make the biggest difference and your monthly milestones and then actions each month. And then finally, I of course like to build my business holistically. If you know me at all, you may know my five L’s model, live, love, learn and lead love. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go to one service i.com forward slash success. One step outside.com. Forward slash success. And you can read about the five L’s model and you can download an assessment where you can answer some questions to see how you’re doing and each of these areas.
But in a nutshell, and as a reminder, live as your wellness, your health and well being love, relationships, belonging, learn personal professional development and growth lead, which is it for us our business, possibly also a day job if you’re still in corporate, and laugh, fun and spontaneity, which hopefully is a big one for July and August in particular, but really sit down and think, okay, you know, I know a couple of you have started working with a personal trainer, in some cases, someone I’ve recommended. So let me know if you have a recommendation, I’ve got a great one that I work with. Or if you’re training for a marathon or whatever it is. And maybe you want to introduce date night with your partner. Or again, this is going to be really being present with your family over the summer break. That’s for the love relationships, you want to do some volunteering in your community. It’s not just love. It’s not just family.
It’s also that broader community and your peer group and so on. Learn I’m doing a hopefully finishing soon my organizational psychology course online, I’m also doing another program, and I’m doing racquetball and tennis coaching. If that counts as well, I think that hits a few different blocks, because it’s fun is learning and it’s wellness as well. Well being level of lead, lead your business goals, career goals, of course, and then laugh, what’s your fun and spontaneity go I know, it’s weird to have a goal and fun and spontaneity. But they go, it’s important to have that there as well. So I know that’s gone quickly, 1015 minutes of reviewing, but again, of course, you can pause and hopefully you have done or you can go back and listen, don’t just you know, go Okay, that’s interesting and move on. Please, if you’re not doing this already, obviously, if you’ve got your own methodology, I’d like by the way, I’d love to hear about it, because I’m such a geek when it comes to these things.
So if you have something that I haven’t talked about today, that’s really useful for you, obviously, I’ve only kind of dipped my toes in it today.
And we’re really looking, of course at your revenue goals, but also wins and lessons learns, stop start Lessons Learned stop site continues really helpful. And then looking ahead as well, and thinking about the different months and, and tailoring it to that and in particular thinking about those holistic five hours as well. If you do want support well there’s of course this in much bigger detail and much more sort of a longer term, longer period of time that we do this together. And we do do, of course, this quarterly review and annual review in the business incubator that I talked about a few weeks ago. So if you want to learn more about that and apply, you can go to one step outside.com. Forward slash grow. That’s one step outside.com, forward slash grow. But I hope that was valuable. It may be basic for those of you who have been doing this for many years, and so on, but I think we need a reminder and it’s good to hear again about different approaches. There might be something there that you haven’t done before the five hours or something obviously, that’s that’s my own IP. So it’s something no one else does. And the stop start continue might be new to you if you don’t come from the same corporate background as me. So I hope that was insightful for you. I hope you are feeling good about your results that last few months and if not, I hope you’re certainly feeling good about your goals for the coming months. on what you’re going to do differently to make it happen best of luck and hope to speak to you soon bye for now
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The Outsiders Business Incubator
A mentoring programme focused on implementation support and accountability to help you grow your expert business faster – without sacrificing your personal life to do so.
