485: Three MUST Do Business Tasks at Mid Year

3 MUST DO business tasks at mid-year…

We’re at the halfway point of 2021... so what now? Well, here are 3 MUST Do business tasks that every business should do this month. Good afternoon Thomas Joyner here with Business on Purpose.

It’s easy to get into the habit of putting it on cruise control. It’s summer vacation for kids, everyone is restless to get on the water over the weekend. It’s hot and humid... you name it. It’s natural to hit the halfway point and just kind of hit autopilot for a month or two until you realize you have to hit your numbers by year-end.

But hey, that’s not operating your business “ON PURPOSE” now is it? In fact, all that leads you to is getting stressed at all the work you didn’t do in Q3!

So what do you need to do today? You won’t achieve all of your goals, you won’t earn your year-end bonuses, but you can definitely stall your business enough to prevent yourself from either of those things.

So... today. Get out your calendar and schedule 1-2 hours for each of these tasks. Now, that’s the tip of the iceberg. Some of these things will take more time. But if you get the ball rolling you can always schedule more time to finish the conversations surrounding them. So, figure out who needs to be in the room and schedule it now.

Ok, so what are the 3 MUST DO business tasks at mid-year?

Look back over the first 6 months performance to see how you’re doing

You set goals, where do you line up in relation to them. Are you over/underperforming? If you doubled your numbers will that get you to yearly goals? How is your team performing? Are there pieces that need some care or further training? 

Lastly, take a peek at your financials. Ok, take more than a peek. Look at your Profit and Loss Statement, look at your cash flow month to month and check in with your CPA to see if there is anything that doesn’t make sense. Are your margins where you hoped they would be? Are your labor costs high/low? Are materials and inventory where you thought? Any expenses way higher/lower than you anticipated?

These are all great questions to ask so that you know if you need to make some changes moving into the second half of the year.

I was looking over this with a client recently and they were frustrated at their payroll. It was almost 20% higher than they anticipated. So, we looked back over it and realized they were paying 8 guys 10 hours of overtime a week at time and a half. You do the math and that’s a lot of extra payroll expense. So, we made the necessary decision to hire 2 new employees to get those overtime costs down. Had they not looked? They would be looking at a HUGE loss to the company, plus they now have the opportunity to get more work and grow their team. All because they took an hour to look back at the past 6 monthsperformance.

2. Spend some time forecasting THROUGH Q1 of 2022

What work can you plan on getting over the next 6-9 months? Do you have the staff to accomplish that work? Are there any roles you need to add? Roles you need to merge into one? Anything at all on the horizon, you need to be prepared for. 

I can say from experience that most BIG mistakes I’ve seen when sitting in with clients are all a result of not forecasting. This is what I mean…

Acme Co. enjoys a slow summer. They take it all in and just enjoy the slower season. Waiting for them is 4 HUGE projects that all begin at the end of August. So... August 1st arrives, and by that time it’s too late. They realize they need 3-4 more employees to handle the work. So, they have to rush the hiring process. They are unable to do the appropriate vetting because it’s an emergency and they just need bodies.

Next thing you know, they mess up on the job. It costs the business time, money and reputation. Margins go down. Businesses notice the quality of your work. All because they weren’t aware of what was on the horizon. 

So what is coming in the future that you can prepare for now? Put in the time and then build out the systems to support it. You have time today. You will not 6 weeks from now.

3. Build out your hiring process for if, and when, you need people.

The one thing that we hear constantly is this…”I feel like my employees know I don’t have anyone waiting behind them, so there’s no way to hold them accountable!”

Well, what if there was a way to have someone behind them? What if you were in hiring mode all year round, with a pool of competent candidates ready to hire. It doesn’t just happen.

So often we wait until we need someone to actually put in the time. But, when we are interviewing, or at least working on our interview process, we can seamlessly integrate new, qualified people into our business and use that to push our employees to a standard. 

I can promise you this... you will need good people. I can also promise you that they will be tough to find in an emergency. Spend time and energy finding good people, build roles for them and then work hard to find the right role within your business to maximize their skills. That’s how you raise the bar and hold your employees to a standard. When they know that their are multiple people waiting to do what they do. It’s building a culture of hard work and quality that will raise the bar for everyone.

Ok...don’t pick up your phone and answer a text... don’t call someone back. Schedule time THIS WEEK for these 3 things. 

Looking back over the last 6 months performance to see how you’re doing. Spend some time forecasting to make sure you’re ready for the next 6-9 months. Start your hiring process to get the right people on board.

That’s it! Hope you have a great week and take a minute to go and subscribe to our YouTube and Podcast. Thanks for tuning in