May is ushering to an end; and, we’re getting ready to kick-off the summer with Memorial Day’s holiday weekend and we’re looking forward to the summer here in New England. With that said, the end of Q2 is peeping at us around the corner. Are you ready to finish Q2 strong?

Don’t get distracted with summer fever. There is never a better time than now leading into the summer than to stop, re-evaluate and review your business results with six weeks remaining before the end of Q2. For most solopreneurs, small and even some mid-size business there is still time to make some adjustments to hit your year-end goals.

Here are 3 very specific questions that I ask on a quarterly basis that can certainly be applied now to make sure we are all on track to hit our year-end goals both financially and emotionally.

#1: What is specifically working? For example, what messaging resonated and received the highest engagement? Did we leverage the engagement received; and, what were the immediate results? What are some long-term results that should be expected? Are there best practices that can be replicated moving forward?

#2: What is specifically not working? For example, determine what tactics, activities, and/or projects failed. First, was it measured properly? If not, implement a stronger measurement plan; if measured properly then either adjust the plan or drop the tactics, activities, and/or projects that aren't yielding results to help achieve our goals!

#3: How is your self-care and stress levels? For example, how do I feel? How do the people collaborating with me feel? Are we stressed out over any specific clients or projects? Are we taking care of ourselves and actually "doing" self-care? Are we energized by the work or exhausted? Are we making the small life events like games, award ceremonies, etc. in our kids and loved ones' lives? These are all honest questions that have to be asked often because nothing is worth sacrificing our health or time with our family and friends.

Ultimately, broad-stroke questions should be answered to determine if the business is where you thought it would be right now in your current cycle? If it isn’t, there is still time to make adjustments to hit your mark. Use your insights to date to tighten up the plan moving forward.

More importantly, make sure you take care of yourself and that you're enjoying the experience of running your own business! And, yes try to enjoy the start of summer too! Good luck and stay strong!

Sonya Ruff Jarvis is a Business & Marketing Consultant; Content Creator & Connection-Maker; Thought Leader & Industry Expert and Book Author & Entrepreneur. Areas of expertise include: Retail; Marketing; Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI); and Human Resources. Sonya has been a part of the B2B retail industry for more than 30 years. Interested in Sonya’s books?  They can be found on Amazon or get an author autographed copy at www.jarvisconsultants.com. 

Let’s talk about your next project and how Jarvis Consultants can support your initiatives; email sonya@jarvisconsultants.com.

www.jarvisconsultants.com

portions re-posted from “Top of Mind” section from April 2024 JC e-newsletter.