“It’s how you play the second half” ~ Keith Cunningham.
The first half of the year is over. It’s halftime, and you’re in the locker room with your team. What feedback and coaching will you give them for the second half?
How is your cash flow, customer base, team spirit, processing system, delivery of what you do, or your life or relationships related to that matter?
Below are a few things to always consider at this time of year:
- Begin with the end in mind. When January 1st arrives, where do you want to be by yearend, what do you want to accomplish next year? Always be relooking at your 12-month outlook. Plan, or plan to fail! This strategy usually starts with updating your budget and projections.
- Revised projections for sales, expenses, wages, profits, cash flow, and owners’ take-home – where will they land? The first six months being over, where are sales and profits at? Are they comparable to last year? What are you expecting in the second half of the year? Will it impact estimated tax payments? Do you need to revisit your budget and projections based on your sales, expenses, or cash flow assumptions?
Specific items you may want to reflect on:
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- Will you add more staff or downsize? How will this impact wages, expenses, sales, service, or delivery?
- Will you buy new equipment this year? Plan to finance it, section 179 equipment, or expense it over time, based on your tax planning?
- What will your take-home pay be at the end of the year? What are your personal income goals? Savings goals? Debt-reduction goals?
- Tax planning: April 18th prior year tax payment is due as well as your first quarter estimate. The second-quarter estimates are due on June 15th. If you don’t plan accordingly for those payments it can make for the perfect storm leading to a cash crunch. This is a great time to meet with your Accountant on what profits and cash flow look like for the rest of the year based on sales, expenses, profit, cash flow, owner’s take home pay, and taxes.
- Revise your tax estimates and plan for cash flow and payments. With the last two quarters left, if you had two major projects, initiatives, or goals to complete, what would they be? If you completed those two items, you should consider the second half of the year a success.
- Look at the different areas of your business – delivery, service, production, operations, sales, customer service, systems, projects, your team, you, your technology, or equipment. What goals do you have, and what are the top 2-4? Also, review our 8 Skills to Being a Successful Business Leader for goal-setting insights by clicking here
- What goals do you have personally for yourself, your family, or your children? Where and when can you fit them in your plan to make them a priority and make them real?
- Do you have any goals or habits to put into place to take better care of yourself?
- Do you have a way of planning and prioritizing your weeks and days, before they start? This is not about time management but prioritizing and resource allocation. Leaders’ number one thing is to be resourceful and decide how they will allocate time, energy, and money to the top priorities. Remember, what you get done is also a function of what you say no to. Don’t be so busy doing the work in the business that you forget to build a business. The key to accomplishing this is developing daily and weekly systems to direct your focus and priorities.
Plan your work, then work your plan. It’s not what we want to hear, it’s not easy, but it is that simple. Hard work, works! Never leave the site of a goal without doing something to put it into action. Schedule something, make a call, and do something related to it right now!
For true leaders, it’s not a matter of resources but resourcefulness. How can you be more resourceful and better leader? How are you going to play in the second half of 2022?
For coaching or support with goal setting, strategic planning, budgeting, projecting sales, cash flow, and more, please contact EWH to learn how we can help guide you through these questions for planning and putting a strategic plan and budget in place.
