Welcome to the Second Half…
Contributed by SBOC Member:
Pat Miller
Founder of the Small Business Owners Community
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Welcome to the second half of 2025.
January feels like a lifetime ago, and New Year’s Eve is still a ways off. That’s because we’re right in the thick of it. Mid-year. I want to take a minute for a useful thought exercise to see how 2025 is treating you.
Let’s break the moment into two parts:
Scoreboard: How are you doing?
Blueprint: What are you going to do about it?
Take five minutes. Answer these questions. Be honest. By the time we’re passing around the eggnog, you’ll either be celebrating a record year or wondering what went wrong. Let’s make sure it’s the former.
Scoreboard:
How’s your money? Are you tracking where you thought you’d be?
How’s your time? Are you overwhelmed? Busy with the wrong things? Making progress on passion projects?
And finally, how do you feel? Do you still love what you’re doing? Does your business feel like a chore? Are you energized, or just trying to get through the day?
Blueprint:
You don’t need permission. You don’t need approval. You just need courage, clarity, and the will to make the changes necessary for you and your business.
Sales:
What will you do to increase your revenue between now and the end of the year?
- Do you need five more one-on-ones per month?
- Do you need one high-ticket client?
- Do you need a simple lead magnet to bring fresh people into your funnel?
Time:
What will you strategically quit to make space for what matters?
We all say we don’t have enough time for sales, but we spend hours on things that don’t move the needle. We can’t productize our business or update our website because of THINGS. Not everything is helping you. Find the dead weight and cut it. I dare you to quit one thing. Bonus points if you quit two. I’ll buy you lunch if you quit three. Not everything on your to-do list deserves your energy.
Energy:
If you’re feeling off, how will you recover?
What can you do to recharge so you’re ready to go? If you’re feeling good, ask yourself why. Is it your diet? Exercise? Friends? A great book? Sunshine? Whatever it is, write it down and double down on it.
By now, one side of your paper should show your scoreboard. The other should outline your blueprint.
Now it’s on you.
This is halftime. It’s not over. You’ve got time to turn things around, or better yet, run up the score and make 2025 a record year.
And speaking of building your record year…
We’re ready to help at #SBOC25 presented by Horicon Bank, happening this September. The entire conference is designed around this exact idea. Day one is all about you—your mindset, your energy, your challenges. Day two is about your business—what’s working, what’s broken, and what systems you need to scale.
We’re in our fifth year, and it’s unlike anything else out there. If you’re ready to stop guessing and start building, join us.
Best of luck in the second half. I can’t wait to see what you do with it.
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Contributed by
Pat Miller
Founder of the Small Business Owners Community
Pat spent two decades in broadcasting management and hosting. After leaving the radio industry, he spent time consulting small businesses and realized the support system for entrepreneurs was broken. Where could you find help for improving small businesses and building real connections with other like-minded people. In June of 2020, the Idea Collective Small Business Community was born.