Season 2, Episode 6: The Mid-Year Check-In Most Business Owners Skip
You started this business to build something that actually works for you. You track revenue constantly, sometimes to the thousand, and most weeks that number tells you the story you want to hear. But somewhere around month six, a quieter question starts forming: is the business actually protected? And would I even know if it wasn’t?
The uncertainty is rarely about whether the top line looks good. It’s about everything underneath the top line that never gets reviewed.
In this episode, Mary Beth walks through the eight-part mid-year check-in she runs with small business owner clients, and explains why revenue is the number that tells you the least about whether you’re actually okay. If most of your financial attention has gone to the number at the top of the page, this episode is going to reframe where the real risk, and the real opportunity, is sitting.
In This Episode:
Why revenue is the wrong scoreboard. Revenue gets checked daily, sometimes hourly, refreshed on a dashboard like a heartbeat. Everything that actually determines whether that revenue is protecting you gets reviewed once a year, if that. Mary Beth explains why the P&L, read for what surprises you rather than what confirms what you already believe, is the more useful document.
The expense list you haven’t touched since you built it. Every business accumulates costs that were right for a different version of itself, a software plan sized for a team you no longer have, a contractor retainer for a project that already wrapped. Mary Beth walks through the one question to ask of every line item, and why this isn’t an austerity exercise.
Cash reserve, in real months, not a feeling. Three months is the floor, six is where things start to feel steady. Mary Beth breaks down what to do if you’re under that number, and why cash sitting idle in a checking account isn’t a reserve strategy once you’re over it.
The estimated tax check most owners skip. Your Q2 payment was based on a projection from months ago, and a lot has likely changed since then. Mary Beth explains how to check whether your Q3 payment actually reflects the business you have right now.
Insurance and continuity, the questions no one wants to answer. Does your coverage still match your current revenue and headcount? And if you were out for six weeks tomorrow, unplanned, could someone else keep the business running? Mary Beth makes the case for why a continuity plan isn’t pessimism, it’s protection.
Retirement and owner pay, revisiting what you’ve already built. Whether you’re on track with a SEP IRA or solo 401(k), whether employer contributions to employee plans are actually landing on time, and why your own paycheck deserves the same twice-a-year scrutiny as everything else in the business.
Mentioned in This Episode:
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Allora Wealth, LLC is a registered investment adviser. This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute personalized investment advice. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Please consult a qualified financial professional before making investment decisions.