The Mid-Year Check-In Every Business Owner Needs to Do Right Now
It’s officially summer and the first half of the year is almost complete!
This is the point of the year where many business owners feel burnt out or frustrated as they look ahead at year-end goals they haven’t hit yet. But this doesn’t need to be the case!
I’m currently listening to the book The Gap and the Gain by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy. The core premise? Measure your progress by looking backward instead of forward.
This means comparing where you are now to where you were at the beginning of a project, quarter, year, etc. This helps you see how far you’ve come and stay in “The Gain,” rather than chasing ideals which can lead to frustration (even if you achieve your goal) and staying in “The Gap.”
To understand how to break this cycle, it helps to look at why so many entrepreneurs fall into this trap in the first place.
Why Business Owners Get Stuck in "The Gap"
It is incredibly easy to look at a 12-month goal in June and feel like you're failing simply because you haven't crossed the finish line yet. When you obsess over the distance between where you are today and your ideal future, you enter "The Gap."
Staying in the Gap leads to chronic frustration, personal and team burnout, and a total lack of momentum. It makes you overlook the massive hurdles you’ve already cleared and the progress you’ve made, making business feel like an exhausting, never-ending uphill battle. Fortunately, there is a simple mindset shift that can pull you out of this trap instantly.
How to Move Into "The Gain"
When you train your brain to stay in "The Gain," everything shifts. You unlock higher motivation, greater confidence, and a clear-headed focus that actually accelerates your growth. Instead of running on fumes, you build momentum from your own success.
To experience this yourself, take a look back at where your business was on January 1 and compare it to today.
How far have you actually come over the last six months?
What is one thing that absolutely amazes you about where your business is today?
To give you an idea of what this looks like in practice, I decided to run through this exact exercise for my own business.
My 2026 "Gain"
What amazes me about the first half of 2026 for my business is that I led sessions at the Hagerstown Community College Nonprofit Symposium, Fletcher Incubator and Labs Spark! Innovation & Growth Conference, Maryland Women’s Business Center, and Western Maryland Connect-Working Group.
One of the reasons I founded Wisteria Marketing Solutions was to share my marketing knowledge with small-to-medium-sized businesses and nonprofits, and I was able to do just that!
Reflecting on these wins didn't just make me feel good, it gave me the perfect foundation to plan out my next moves.
Looking Ahead: Setting "Gain-Oriented" Goals
Staying in The Gain isn’t about ignoring the future; it's about fueling it with confidence. Setting Gain-oriented goals means planning your next steps from a place of abundance and capability, rather than scarcity or panic.
For the second half of 2026, my goals are locked in:
Continue sharing knowledge through workshops and content. (This one is already on its way as I will be leading a session at the 2026 Main Street Maryland Conference in October.)
Work closely with at least six businesses to develop custom marketing strategies that crush their goals. (If you want your business to be one of those six, let's talk!)
Now that you've seen my roadmap, it's time to map out yours.
How will you choose to be in “The Gain” this week?
Let me know: What do you want to achieve in the second half of 2026? Email me at [email protected]. I'd love to hear your goals!
