How to Do a Mid-Year Business Performance Review (That Actually Moves the Needle)

We’re halfway through the year. That means it’s time to lift the bonnet and take a proper, honest look at what’s really happening in your business.

If you’re like most service-based business owners, you’ve been flat out since January. Busy on client delivery, managing your team, keeping cash coming in, and juggling everything else that comes with running a business. But have you stopped to check what’s working, what’s not, and what needs to change before the end of the year creeps up on you?

This is more than just a quick progress check. It’s a Mid-Year Business Performance Review, and done properly, it gives you a clear, structured look at where your business is today and what it needs to perform better. At The Business Fixer, we structure every review around the five pillars of the Business Fixer Toolkit: Business Planning, Financials, Marketing, Sales, and Leadership and Mindset.

This is the perfect time to review these areas with a clear head, reconnect with your goals, and make focused changes so the second half of the year puts you back in the driving seat.

Business Planning: Reconnect With Your Goals

Most business owners only ever write a business plan once usually when they start out. Then it stays in a drawer gathering dust. But your Business Growth Plan, or even a simple list of clear goals, should be something you revisit regularly.

If you already have a plan in place, check whether your current actions and results are aligned with what you set out to achieve. If you’re off course, try to work out why. Have things changed in the market? Have you taken on work that’s pulled you in a different direction? Have you spent too much time reacting to urgent problems rather than working towards bigger, strategic goals?

If you don’t have a plan or set goals, now is the time to stop and get clear on where you’re heading. You need direction, not just activity.

Next, review your offers. Do they solve the problems your dream clients are facing right now? Are they still relevant and useful? Are you pricing based on the value and transformation you bring, or are you undervaluing your work because you’re afraid to charge more?

If something doesn’t feel aligned, it’s not about dropping it entirely, it’s about refining it to make sure it’s still doing the job it was designed to do. Your offers should exist to help your ideal client solve real problems. That’s the benchmark.

Next be clear about what success looks like for the next six months. Choose two or three priorities you want to achieve by the end of the year and make sure your time and resources are set up to support them. Your Business Growth Plan doesn’t need to be complicated. It just needs to be current and intentional.

Financials: Know Your Numbers and Take Control

Whether your bank balance is looking healthy or low, one thing is true for most business owners: they are scared of their numbers. Not because they don’t care, but because they don’t fully understand them.

If this is you, you’re not alone. The fear usually comes from uncertainty. You see money in the account but don’t really know how much of it is yours to spend. Or you feel like you’re working non-stop but can’t explain why the cash still isn’t at the level it should be.

Now is the time to check your revenue against your original targets and see how far off (or ahead) you are. More importantly, look at your profit. If you’re earning well but keeping very little, there’s a problem. Review your margins for each service or client type and see where the best profit is coming from. Are there clients who take up far too much time for too little return? Are you still charging the same prices you were a year ago, even though your costs have gone up?

Look at your expenses over the last three months and get honest about what’s essential and what’s just habit. Over time, businesses pick up extra tools, subscriptions, freelancers, or delivery costs that slowly eat into profit, what can be trimmed or changed.

Your numbers will give you the truth. Once you understand them, you can use them to make better decisions, stop unnecessary spending, and confidently plan ahead. By doing your Mid-Year Business Performance Review it will give you clarity, not confusion.

Marketing: Make It Strategic, Not Sporadic

Marketing often ends up being one of the first things to slide when things get busy. You start the year strong, posting regularly and following up with leads, but by mid-year you’re either invisible or sending out the odd bit of content without any real thought behind it.

Start by reviewing what’s actually worked so far this year. Think about the last ten or so leads you’ve had. Where did they come from? Which platform did they find you on? What made them enquire? If you don’t know, that’s your first job. You cannot improve what you’re not tracking.

Next, look at your messaging. Go back to your website, your social posts, and your email campaigns. Are you speaking to the clients you really want to work with? Has your ideal client changed over the last six months? Are you clearly explaining the problems you solve, and showing the value of what you offer? If your content feels generic or inconsistent, you’re likely missing out on opportunities from people who simply don’t understand how you can help.

You don’t need to be on every platform or shouting the loudest. You just need a simple, clear plan that shows up in the right places, saying the right things, to the right people consistently. That’s what builds trust and drives leads.

Sales: Turn Enquiries Into Clients With a Consistent Process

If marketing brings people to your door, it’s your sales process that gets them to walk through it. This is where many businesses start slipping.

When you’re busy on delivery, it’s easy to let follow-ups slide. You tell yourself you’ll respond later, or assume someone who hasn’t replied just isn’t interested. But right now, people are taking longer to decide. It’s no longer enough to have one good conversation and hope for the best.

Start by looking at the number of enquiries you’ve received in the last few months. How many of them were followed up properly? And what does “followed up” actually mean in your business? If it’s a single email and then silence, that’s not a follow-up process, that’s a missed opportunity.

Ask yourself how many of those enquiries have actually converted. Do you know why people said yes or no? Have you asked for feedback from those who walked away?

You also need to look at how long it takes someone to go from first contact to decision. If people are stalling, you might not be giving them everything they need to say yes. Is it clear what happens next? Do you explain the value of your offer in a way that connects with their problem? Are you comfortable handling objections, or do you avoid talking about pricing?

Many issues in sales come down to inconsistency. A simple, repeatable sales process can fix that. Make sure you’re qualifying leads early, having meaningful sales calls that go deep into the problem, and clearly showing the transformation your service delivers. Be clear on the next steps. Then follow up.

The art is in the follow-up. Whether it’s booking the initial call or checking in after the proposal, consistency is what builds trust. It’s not about being pushy. It’s about helping the right people make the right decision with confidence and doing that with professionalism and purpose.

Leadership and Mindset: Step Back and Take Stock

Finally, look at how you’re leading, not just your team, but yourself. If the first half of the year has felt heavy, overwhelming, or directionless, this is where you’ll feel it most.

Start by asking whether you’ve been running the business, or whether it’s been running you. Are you working on growth and direction, or spending most of your time on delivery, admin, and putting out fires? When was the last time you sat down to think, plan, or reflect, without interruptions?

Look at your habits. If you’re constantly firefighting, it’s likely that your systems, time management, or support structure need to change. That might mean delegating more, saying no to non-essential work, or creating boundaries in your calendar so you have time for high-level thinking.

Leadership isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about making space to ask the right questions and staying connected to your goals. The second half of the year will only be better if you make intentional changes now and that starts with your mindset.

What Next? Check the Health of Your Business

Reviewing each of these five areas is not just a reflective exercise. It brings clarity, control, and direction. The goal is not to fix everything overnight, but to understand where the business stands and where to focus next. With that insight, the second half of the year can be approached with confidence and purpose.

If it is unclear where to begin, the Business Performance Health Check is a powerful first step. It can be used at any point in the year to assess progress and pinpoint what needs attention.

Ready to see what is really happening under the bonnet?

The Business Performance Health Check gives a clear, structured way to review your business across all five areas. It provides a simple score in each one, along with practical recommendations based on where things stand right now.

This is not a tick-box exercise. It is about understanding what is performing, what is not, and what needs to change.

👉 Get your Business Performance Score – take the free Health Check today

Prefer to talk it through? Book a Business Performance Review Call to go through your results in detail.

The second half of the year starts now. Let’s fix what is holding the business back.

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