At the beginning of every new year, we set goals for our wedding planning businesses. These goals can cover a variety of things from financial, growth, social, team goals, etc. But what we often fail to do is check in on those goals throughout the year to be sure we’re hitting them or even to be sure they’re still goals we want to strive for. Maybe your goals have changed, and that’s okay. That’s why a mid-year review is so important to your business! You always want to make sure your business is moving in the direction you’re hoping for.
Now that we’re halfway through the year, it’s important to revisit some crucial items.
01. Goals
When it comes to your goals, you’ll want to think about:
- What goals have I hit?
- How much more do I need to do/make/sell to hit XYZ goal?
- Have my goals changed?
- Have I hit my financial goals in specific?
If you’ve hit your financial goals, you’ll also want to decide how you want to spend the rest of the year. You can increase your goal and work towards hitting that. You could also take it easy in Q3 and Q4 knowing that you’ve already hit your financial goals for the year and anything above and beyond is extra! Remember that some of your goals can also be less business-focused. Maybe one of your goals is to take 1/2 a day on Fridays, or to have Mondays off. Keep track of these, and see what you need to do to hit these goals for the year.
Finally, because you’ve hit that financial goal for the year, you could spend more of your time planning for next year! The benefit of a mid-year review is that you know what the rest of your year can look like.
02. Budget/Cash Flow
Once you’ve looked at your goals, including your financial ones, you can look through your budget and cash flow. This is the real financial side of things beyond just how much money you’re bringing in. It’s important to check in on your budget regularly! This helps you determine if you need to pull back on anything or have room to invest in any tools or coaching. One tool that I use in my business every day is Honeybook! It’s a CRM that gives you everything you need to manage clients, including onboarding. It can also help you track your goals since you can quickly see the money that is coming in each month.
For a more in-depth view, I highly recommend Quickbooks. This is hands-down one of the most important tools in my business! It lets you track everything in your business, and create reports to see how you’re doing each month. Check your cash flow worksheet to see where there may be gaps or holes and set goals for the rest of the year based on that.
03. Boundaries
One thing that often gets overlooked during our mid-year review is our day-to-day and how we manage it. Revisit your daily practices like your office hours and your communication preferences to make sure you’re not overextending yourself.
This is basically a mid-wedding season check to see if you’re sticking to your office hours and communication preferences. If you’re emailing clients/vendors during non-office hours and getting late-night or weekend texts, then odds are, you’re overextending yourself.
We set these preferences so that we can take care of ourselves and so clients know how to communicate with us.
So, be sure to schedule any emails you send to go out during business hours and encourage clients to email if anything comes up. Most importantly, charge for additional time spent or services performed. I hear from A LOT of wedding planners that they go above and beyond and aren’t paid for their extra services. The best strategy for this is an a la carte menu, which I’ve written about before.
We can’t expect clients to remember (or better yet, go back and read) our contract. This means we need to advocate for ourselves and make sure we bill clients for more time spent or create the expectation that clients will not hear from us outside of office hours. It’s ultimately your responsibility to set (and keep!) these boundaries.
04. Your Team
During your mid-year review, check in with your team! Conduct a strategy session during which you can ask for feedback. Some important questions to ask are:
- How do they think the year is going?
- How can you support them?
- What do they need help with?
Your team is an amazing resource that you can use to keep your business moving forward. Strategize for the rest of the year with them. You can set goals as a team for the company and even for them personally. For example, how many more weddings would they like to book that year?
Your check-in with your team can look like whatever makes sense. This can mean you schedule a 2-hour in-person team meeting and take your team to lunch. However, you can even just have a simple face-to-face zoom meeting during which you can check in with everyone and strategize for the rest of the year.
05. Coaching
If you are doing your Mid-Year review and realizing you need some guidance to get to that next level, consider coaching! In every business, there comes a stage where you start to hit walls or are hitting your goals, but feeling burnout. Every business, especially wedding planners, face this moment! There comes a time when you need to focus, streamline, and find the right coach to get you there.
As a coach for wedding planners, and a planner myself, I know exactly how this feels. I work closely with my coaching clients to build a solid path in the right direction. I offer accountability, support, guidance, and clarity around your business.
[Related: How to Know When It’s Time to Invest in Coaching]
Your Mid-Year Review
Your mid-year review is an important part of managing and maintaining your wedding planning business. Knowing if you’ve hit your goals and have a plan for the rest of the year is essential to moving forward with your company. A mid-year review means you know if you’re hitting those financial goals or if you need to step it up to make sure you do. Beyond that, you want to consistently make sure your goals make sense for you and your business. This means regular check-ins.
As an experienced wedding coordinator and coach, I know all about helping wedding planners stay on track. If you’re feeling stuck or like you’re not sure what your next move is, I can help! From overwhelmed to booked out, I can help you shift gears and create a strategic plan for your business. Learn more about what I do!
Xo,
Jess
Related Resources To Help Your Mid-Year Review
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