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Business isn’t always smooth sailing. In fact, there are lots of twists and turns along the way. Here is my honest mid-year review, to normalise the highs and the lows!

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This is a very special (and vulnerable) one to mark the middle of the year… I am going to be taking you behind the scenes of my very own mid-year review.

The reason I wanted to do this is because yes, business is strategic and I want to show you the strategy and techniques in terms of what 6 months can look like for a business and a business owner.

But we’re all also navigating being human.

It can be really hard when we’re watching everyone’s highlight reel on Instagram and we don’t feel like we’re matching up to the mark.

I know that so many of my clients have experienced this year and I have too - imposter syndrome creeps in, doubt creeps in and we feel so utterly rubbish about ourselves.

And the truth is this: things can change and change and change again… which is essentially the premise of what this episode is about.

Come with me as I walk you through each month of the year so far: the good, the bad and everything in between.

January

We began January still recovering after Jacob's hospital stay in late 2022. We spent around three nights in the hospital, and fortunately, we were able to come home on Christmas Eve, which was truly a blessing. Although we had to bring Jacob back to the hospital on Christmas Day and Boxing Day for an injection, it was a relief not to stay overnight during the Christmas period. I'm happy to report that he is absolutely fine.

On January 21st, we received the news that we were expecting a baby, and it filled me with a great sense of positivity so I started the year with a really, really good energy.

In terms of the business, January was a big month. I got back into the flow of posting content and made a conscious effort to improve its quality. I rediscovered my love for content creation and started working with some wonderful clients, many of who are continuing to work with me until July and August. I dedicated time to refining the Busy-to-Boss Academy and I was more consistent with my podcast, too.

In January, I took action to make changes in my business model by focusing on four core elements:

I looked at my client lifecycle to determine their needs at different stages of their journey. What do they want, and how can they achieve it? I felt an urge to become more specific and niche as a business coach, ensuring that potential clients knew exactly what I had to offer.
I then reviewed the client lifecycle exercise to identify common themes among my clients. Did anything stand out?
Based on that I designed a completely new offer suite and business model

During this process, it became evident that the Busy to Boss Academy did not align with the new direction of my business. Consequently, discussions commenced regarding its potential removal from my product suite.

Don’t be mistaken, it sounds like it was easy, but I must admit that I often felt like a fake business owner in January. Behind the scenes, my email inboxes were chaotic, and I struggled with a sense of inadequacy. That’s kind of how I ended the month.

February

February I experienced what my coach describes as a "dark night of the soul." I began letting myself down, neglecting my core habits and routines. Mentally, I wasn't in a good place. I felt scared and exhausted, and my pregnancy symptoms intensified. It was much worse than my previous pregnancy, leaving me feeling extremely sick and requiring extra support. I felt completely out of control, and it was during a moment of journaling that I had a lightbulb moment. That’s where I came up with the idea of creating ‘enough’ lists for core areas of my life.

Naturally, these personal challenges affected my business, but I tried to stay focused as much as possible. I stayed consistent with content creation and still enjoyed it and I announced the retirement of the Busy to Boss Academy. It was a month of trust, journaling, and deep chats.

I worked on my new offer suite but the more I delved deeper into the details I found myself growing increasingly confused and lacking confidence. Self-doubt crept in, and I felt like I was regressing.

A turning point came when I submitted my office suite for feedback as part of a programme I was enrolled in. The positive feedback made me feel so much better and just having that validation was really helpful.

March

In March I really spotted a theme. I felt like I was slowly turning a corner. Despite still being in my first trimester and experiencing exhaustion, there were some positive moments. We celebrated Jacob's second birthday and announced "Little Plump 2.0" to the world. Sharing the news with my clients was a massive relief, as I had been trying to hold space and maintain focus for them. Their response when I announced this pregnancy was completely overwhelming in the best way.

It took me some time to get back into my core habits of journaling and reading but I began feeling more grounded towards the end of the month, which was such a good feeling to lean into.

In business, I could sense a shift in energy. My core focus for the month of March was the next step in my new business revamp, time to dig into all things money.

In terms of offers, I mapped out the structure and desired deliverables for each one, along with an estimated price range. Before this, I did some prep work, which involved a detailed overview of my financial goals. I looked at what I wanted my salary to be, what we needed to be bringing in to cover our expenses. I thought about my team, who I currently have on my team, how I want my team to expand in the future, and then business expenses and I made sure to cover everything that I wanted to include.

Once I had this information, I delved deeper into my office suite, defining it in more detail. I then allocated revenue per offer, specifying how much income I expected from each offer and the number of clients or students required to meet my annual revenue goal. Breaking it down monthly and weekly made the numbers more tangible and manageable. This exercise was eye-opening, as it made the seemingly impossible feel attainable. I wrote it all down in my journal and read it daily, fueling my excitement and belief in the possibilities.

So now feels like the right time to share an overview of my new office suite. While I won't go into loads of detail, I'm so excited to reveal the overview of what it’s going to look like.

The New offer suite

I am going to have a membership that will be based around productivity being your most productive self, I am going to have a course all about content strategy.
I'm going to have a course all about launching which I've been talking about for such a long time.
I have a new 12-month signature program centred around strategic planning and my 90-day operating system.
Plus I’ll have a small number of one-to-one clients which will look different to what it looks like right now.

In March, I also had the final month of support in the Busy to Boss Academy, remained consistent with content creation, and continued serving my clients.

I realised in March, especially when I was looking back at my journal entries that comparison was the biggest trigger for all of this. I was spending so much unnecessary time comparing my path to others who weren't on the same journey as me. After doing some soul-searching and speaking to my coach, I realised that I was the block. Nobody else, nothing else.

It was time for me to take 100% responsibility. I was stopping my own power. So at the end of March, I did a visualisation and it changed everything for me. I realised that my vision is too powerful to let go of or give up on, and I could see it so clearly, with all five senses, and that was a moment when everything completely changed.

April

Which brings us to April. The theme for April was that there was so much to do, and so little time.

I also started my second trimester in April. So I knew that the bad pregnancy symptoms would start to shift and that I'd hopefully start to feel better. I really did notice a massive difference in myself in April, which I was very pleased about.

So in business, this is where the biggest update comes in.

At the start of the month, I was cautiously optimistic, I had my plan, I knew where my energy and attention were going. I just needed to keep the focus. So I mapped out my Q2 plan.

My decision was to proceed with the launch of my productivity course as a priority. Although I knew it would be challenging, I had a clear plan in mind. Following the approach I teach my clients, I broke it down into monthly and weekly targets. I engaged in market research, planning, podcasting, and preparing for my maternity leave. Thus, my original goals for Q2, set in April, were to launch the productivity course, prepare my business for maternity leave, build my community through content creation, and focus on manifesting my next version of self.

In April, I also gained clarity in my business. I started noticing recurring themes in client calls throughout the year, which reinforced the changes I intended to make with my offer suite. I felt confident and proactive, even recording podcast episodes to cover the period of my maternity leave. However, I did experience moments of anxiety when contemplating the time I would take off for maternity leave. Yet, I reassured myself that it was unnecessary to worry about it at that moment and that I would figure it out later.

Then, in mid-April, I encountered a significant setback.

It became harder to release the timelines and remove the pressure when I had such a hard deadline in the form of maternity leave. While I advise my clients and coach them to detach from timelines, I found it challenging because my due date was fixed on October 1st. I struggled to wrap my head around this contradiction and attempted to practice what I preached by keeping my thoughts and emotions in check. However, there were moments when I felt overwhelmed and wanted to escape it all.

We also got COVID halfway through the moment and everything felt completely out of balance. I tried my best to lean into mindset work, which really helped me.

Upon reflection, although the month had its difficulties, there were several weeks when I made progress, stuck to my plan, and accomplished what I set out to do. Towards the end of the month, unexpectedly, I received a new inquiry for one-on-one coaching, which served as a reminder that I was on the right path in one way or another.

I bounced back, stayed on track, maintained discipline, and made adjustments. I scaled back the productivity course launch, deciding to focus solely on the founding member launch instead. That became my new plan.

Then the question became, between April and August, where can the cash injection come from? What would be the most useful?

I'm a big believer in signs. And I took the one on one client inquiry that I got as a sign plus advice from a mentor. So I approached it mindset-wise and strategically. I decided to open up a certain amount of one-to-one coaching spots. That inquiry she said yes, she was the first in and then it just completely started to snowball from there.

Around April, the idea for a 30-day accountability program also came to me while I was in the shower. Once again, the shower proved to be a source of inspiration. As the month finished, I’d made some key decisions about moving forward.

MAY

Which brings us to May.

In personal news, we had our 20-week scan, and we were thrilled to see our little one, who we didn't find out the gender of, looking healthy and adorable. Everything was progressing well, which was great news. In May, I began to feel more excited about the opportunities coming my way.

Now, let's talk about my business.

I made some decisions about moving forward and took back control and power over my plans. I made some adjustments to my goals. First, I decided to open up spots for new one-on-one coaching clients based on my capacity to handle them. I also set a goal to launch the 30-day accountability program in June. As for the productivity course, I decided not to do a founding member launch but instead focus on a big launch before my maternity leave.

In May, I was determined to practice what I preach.

Every day, I set two non-negotiable tasks for myself: doing something for my own well-being and promoting my one-on-one coaching spots. I devoted all my focus and energy to these two things. I prepared an abundance of content prompts, more than I needed for the month, so I could select based on what resonated with me, the conversations I had, and my overall feeling. I also set an intention to fill the coaching spots by the end of May, but I thought, wouldn't it be fantastic if I filled them by the end of the month? I firmly believe that the quality of the questions you ask yourself determines the quality of your life, so I added that fun possibility to my intention.

At the start of May, everything fell into place. Content ideas flowed effortlessly, and the name for the 30-day program, the Boss Project, came to me without effort. Clients started signing up, and the process felt smooth and grounded. I didn't stress about waiting for responses or feeling pressure during the free strategy calls with potential clients. That's why I decided to go ahead with the June accountability programme—it felt like the right move, even though it was a new challenge for me. I wanted to treat it as an experiment and see what would happen. So, my plan for the month was as follows:

For the first two weeks of May, I focused on filling as many one-on-one coaching spots as possible. In the next two weeks, my attention shifted to getting people into the June accountability program. If there were still open spots, I planned to fill the remaining coaching spots. That's why I decided to run a free challenge in the middle of the month. The challenge would help fill the remaining coaching spots or serve as a lead-in to the June accountability program.

Summing up my experience and the lessons learned, when my plans changed at the end of April, I felt a bit lost and lacked my usual spark as May began. Nevertheless, sticking to my habits and routines helped keep me grounded. However, I found myself constantly pushing certain tasks aside. Despite the momentum I felt due to the supportive systems I had put in place, I realized it was challenging to maintain the necessary energy and capacity. That's why it's crucial to prioritize self-care daily.

Conducting this experiment in May made me even more excited about hosting the Boss Project in June. I was applying what I was going to teach throughout June and experiencing positive results. It served as proof. But the most significant lesson I learned in May was that I was overly focused on the short term and not enough on the long term.

Preparations for maternity leave took a backseat, and as the month progressed, it became harder to maintain focus and energy. I began questioning myself, thinking What is wrong with me? Why do I always let myself down?

Now, as I've said, I'm a big believer in signs and my biggest sign is seeing a robin. And whenever I see a robin, I know that everything's gonna be okay. When I was on a walk with Jacob, in May, I saw two robins. I knew that that was my sign that it was all going to work out.

When I look back at my journal, I realise I was too focused on the now and not enough on the future. I was missing my bigger vision. By the end of the month, I was on a massive high because it had been such an amazing month for the business in lots of different ways; my personal growth financially, and having new people in my world. But again, I knew if I kept going, I wouldn't be ready and where I wanted to be for maternity leave.

JUNE

So June came, and my plans changed again. The theme for June was how much I felt like time was running away from me.

The most significant personal update was that I had to purchase more maternity clothes due to the heatwave. Although I had some from my previous pregnancy with Jacob, they were suitable for winter, not summer. I struggled to cope with the scorching temperatures, and I'll admit, it wasn't easy for me. So, I made the decision to order additional maternity clothes for my maternity leave.

In terms of my business, the 30-day Boss Project kicked off, and I was blown away by the feedback. After just five days, the feedback was wonderful.

One thing that came up in June was that I didn’t have a plan for June. It's vulnerable for me to admit this because I start to feel like an imposter business owner, especially because I always advise my clients to plan in their business.

I was so caught up in my thoughts, constantly on calls, and it felt like there was no purpose. This behaviour is completely unlike me and doesn't align with being a boss in my business and life.

So I made the big decision not to launch anything from my new product suite before the end of the year. Essentially, it meant there would be no launches for the remainder of the year. That was a really scary decision to make income-wise. However, once I made the decision, the question arose: What should I come back with in 2024?

I had two options: the productivity course or my signature offer. In my thought process, the productivity course appeared to be the safer option that would ease me back into the business. On the other hand, the signature offer was a more substantial undertaking, but it offered the potential for recurring revenue. It also made the most sense for the overall direction of the business. I felt that having the signature offer in place first would provide a solid foundation to build the rest of my new product suite around.

To assist in making my decision, I reached out to two communities I'm part of and sought advice from two different mentors. However, their advice conflicted, leaving me more confused and doubtful than ever. I lost sight of trusting my own judgment and struggled to make a decision.

Eventually, after much soul-searching, I took it upon myself to make a decision that I could confidently come back in 2024 with a bang with my new signature offer.

So all the work from the productivity course was put to one side, and I sent out a new market research form. I re-signed with my coach for another six months, which was again, a big decision with maternity leave coming up and having a new baby but I also knew that I need her more than ever.

I started to really feel the urge to map out the next couple of months in more detail. I saw lots of signs to activate myself and to step more into my power. I really encourage you to really look out for signs because the universe is very powerful.

Running The Boss Project was the biggest catalyst of everything. My clients in there have been saying how life-changing it's been for them and running it has been life-changing for me. The feedback has absolutely blown me away.

When I was journaling my mid-year review, I noticed a massive pattern. That pattern is that when I get to the middle of the month, I have a dip. So it's good that I have the awareness of this now I am speaking to my coach about what I can do to plan for it to mitigate it so I can handle it.

By the end of June, I felt determined and my motto really was no more excuses. I felt so excited by the vision and the work I needed to do and the more I thought about it, the more excited that I got.

There were two core beliefs that I really tried to lean into in June.

Number one, everything is working out for me.
Number two, it’s going to work. It's already done.

No matter what curveballs or hurdles come my way, it's all happening for the bigger vision, and to help me activate and actualize all of my desires into reality.

So, what’s next?

I’d love to wrap up with what’s next.

My other intentions moving forward are as follows:

Share more behind the scene and updates with my audience
Show up more in my power
Hit the ground running with my new offer suite and really package my signature offer together for 2024

I plan to map out my maternity leave step by step, considering that my third quarter is shorter due to starting my leave in September. Before July begins, I will outline my maternity plan by following these action steps:

Check-in with my mindset: Assess whether I'm on track, address any limiting beliefs, and reinforce my core beliefs while ensuring my habits and routines support my mindset work.
Define my vision: Determine what I want the next few months, my maternity leave, and my transition back into work in 2024 to look like.
Create a "Year at a Glance" document for the remainder of this year: Provide an overview of the business's focus, content schedule, and other key aspects.
Reverse engineer the plan: Starting from my last day before maternity leave (August 31st), break down the weeks I have available, identify necessary tasks, and set monthly weekly, and daily goals.
Establish goals: Set monthly, weekly, and daily objectives to stay on track and ensure progress.
Prioritise and identify extras: Clearly define my priorities, such as maintaining the podcast and releasing episodes throughout the year, while noting any additional tasks that, although desirable, are not top priorities.
I also want to create a "Year at a Glance" document for 2024: Map out a high-level plan for the upcoming year, if necessary.

That brings us to where we are now. I hope you enjoyed this one and I'm excited to announce that I'll be starting a weekly email series called "Behind the Boss." Through these emails, I will provide regular updates on the business transition and how everything is progressing.