Small Business Articles from Make-it-Fly®

You're Halfway There
Are You on Track?
By Victoria Munro

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It's July, and the first half of the year is history. It’s time to assess whether you’re on track to reach the goals you set for your business this year. If you’re not, you can still make needed course corrections, hit the ground running in the fall and achieve those goals by December.

Review and evaluate your plan. Compare actual progress against your projections and revise where needed. Evaluate the effectiveness of your marketing and whether you need to modify marketing strategies. Look again at your big picture—ask yourself what you want your business to look like two years from today. And, in light of that, what will you need to have in place one year from now? To achieve that, what must you do before the end of 2010?

If you don’t have a written plan, take advantage of what is often a slower summer season and write one now. Keep it simple (unless you’ll need it to get funding). Since things will undoubtedly change as you move forward, store the business plan on your computer, where it can be easily revised. Use bullet points rather than lengthy paragraphs of text to track key concepts—this will make it easier to refer back to when tracking your results. Keep metrics in mind and estimate numbers for leads, prospects, presentations, sales, expenses, etc. Highlight important milestones you want to reach. Most importantly, review and revise your plan each month to keep you on track.

In addition to helping you grow a profitable business, even a simple plan will help you to:

	Hold yourself accountable* for the projections you make
	Make wiser decisions in line with where you want to take your company
	Avoid time-wasting distractions
	Easily assess your most effective marketing strategies
	Keep a better handle on cash flow

Enjoy your summer! But don’t let the lazy hazy days drift by without checking on your year-to-date progress and making necessary adjustments that will keep you on track to finish the year well.

*Better yet, find an ‘accountability partner’ and hold each other accountable to faithfully follow your plans.

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© 2005-2008 Victoria Munro.

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About the Author: Victoria Munro is co-founder (along with husband Dave Block) of Make-it-Fly® LLC, a company dedicated to creating success for small-business owners through creatively designed programs and tools. Victoria has started and run nine different businesses. To receive FREE business success articles with tips to help you with your business, sign up for their award-winning ezine, “In-Flight Refueling,” at: www.Make-it-Fly.com, and receive a free copy of the eBook, Get More Done in Less Time: 101 Quick and Easy Time Tactics & Tips.

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