The first half of the year is behind us. Just couple months ago you were setting strategic objectives for the business. But is your business moving in the direction you planned? A mid-year review allows entrepreneurs to compare their actual performance with their targets, identify what contributed to the results and decide what may need to change before year-end.
Simply, it helps you to assess what went wrong; what went right; and then, how you can make corrections moving forward.
The Entrepreneur Weekly spoke with experts at the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) and presents six (6) metrics that can help you answer these questions.
1. Revenue
Revenue is the income earned from selling goods or services before expenses are deducted. At mid-year, compare your actual sales with your projections. Look at how many products or services were sold, the prices charged, the strongest and weakest sales periods and the channels generating the most income.
If revenue is below target, do not immediately conclude that the business has failed. Determine whether the target was realistic and investigate what caused the shortfall.
Marketing Services Officer, Marcliffe McLean explained: “The first question we would have to ask is: was the target reasonable to begin with?”.
2. Profit
Revenue and profit are not the same.
“The revenue is the money that the business earns from selling goods or services,” Business Development Officer, Colin Coley explained. “The profit [comes after] you take out expenses from the revenue.”
A business may increase sales but still record lower profit if production, transportation, salaries, utilities or other costs rise. Review gross and net profit, the margins on individual products and services and expenses that exceeded the original budget.
Before cutting costs, consider how the decision may affect quality, production, employees and customer service. The aim is not simply to spend less, but to ensure that spending is controlled and contributing to the business.
3. Cash Flow
A profitable business may still struggle if it does not have proper cash flow.
“A business can be profitable and still fail,” said Business Development Officer, Andre Stephenson.
If a customer owes the business money, the sale may appear in its records even though the payment is not yet available. “You have the money on paper because that is what is owed, but it is not in the bank account,” Stephenson explained.
Review cash received, outstanding customer payments, supplier bills, loan repayments and the timing of other expenses. Where possible, reduce the delay between delivering a product or service and receiving payment.
4. Customer Retention
New customers are important, but a business cannot build a stable customer base if previous customers do not return.
“You can’t build your customer base without retaining the old customers while you get new ones,” said Marketing Services Officer, Jair Campbell.
Retention will differ according to the business. A customer may purchase breakfast daily but buy furniture or jewellery less frequently. Businesses must therefore define what a returning customer means for their product or service.
“If you’re not tracking your customers, then you won’t know if you’re retaining them,” Campbell said. Record new and repeat customers, purchase frequency, complaints and feedback. He also recommends personalising the customer experience, resolving problems promptly and listening to customers.
5. Lead Generation
Lead generation involves attracting potential customers and moving them towards a purchase.
“You are identifying prospects,” McLean explained. “You are executing activities to get those prospects into your funnel and eventually turning them into paying customers.”
Do not measure success only by views, followers or enquiries. Track how many people saw your message, responded, expressed serious interest and eventually made a purchase. He added, “Data is one of the most powerful tools that you have in the execution of your business. It is not failure; it is learning.”
Where there is attention but few sales, assess whether you are reaching the right audience. “Are you actually targeting the right customers?” McLean asked. “Is there a mismatch between what you are saying and who you are saying it to?” Tracking can be done through customer relationship management software or, for a smaller business, a properly designed spreadsheet.
6. Productivity
Productivity examines the output generated from the time, money, labour and materials used.
“Productivity is about efficiency,” Stephenson said. “You’re able to do more with either the same or less.”
A manufacturer may measure units produced per hour, while a service provider may track assignments completed, response time or customers served. Compare what the business expected to produce with what it achieved, and examine delays, waste, unfinished tasks and rising production costs.
“The first step is to do a ‘where are we now’ analysis relative to our targets earlier in the year,” Stephenson advised.
Gather your data – sales, expense, banking, customer, marketing and production records. Calculate the six metrics, compare them with your targets and investigate the differences before making changes. Set a date to review the results with one of our Business Development Officers. Contact JBDC at 876-928-5161-5 or visit our website at www.jbdc.net to book a session.
Make the best of the second half of 2026. The JBDC is here to help you set goals and achieve them, ‘from concept to market’.
