6 months down. 6 to go.
Half of 2025 is already in the rearview mirror.
And if you're like most online business owners, you're telling yourself one of two stories right now:
"I'm crushing it! Look at all this progress!"
Or...
"Where the hell did the time go?"
Both stories might be lies.
Let me show you something that'll make your stomach drop.
Last month, I was on a call with a consultant who'd been "busy" all year. She had the proof. 27 blog posts, 3 new lead magnets, 2 course updates, and enough Instagram content to wallpaper her office.
Wanna know how much her revenue grew?
3%.
Three. Fucking. Percent.
Meanwhile, a client (business coach) spent Q1 and Q2 doing exactly 4 things. Just four. His revenue? Up 147%.
The difference wasn't effort.
The difference wasn't talent.
The difference wasn't strategy.
The difference was knowing how to measure what actually matters vs what makes you feel productive.
Most people confuse motion with progress. They mistake busy with profitable. They think more activity equals more income.
Then July hits and they realize they've been running in place for 6 months.
So today, I'm giving you (sort of) a framework that'll show you exactly where you stand. Not where you think you stand. Not where you hope you stand.
Where you actually stand.
And more importantly… what that means for the next 6 months.
Brace yourself.
The 4-Quadrant reality check
Pull up your numbers from January 1st. We're about to do some math that might hurt.
Quadrant 1: Revenue
Don't tell me about your followers, your engagement, or your email list size. Tell me this:
- Revenue Q1+Q2 this year: $_____
- Revenue Q1+Q2 last year: $_____
- Percentage change: _____%
Now the painful part:
- Revenue goal for 2025: $_____
- Percentage achieved so far: _____%
- Required monthly revenue for remaining 6 months: $_____
If you need a calculator for that last one, here's the formula:
(Annual goal - Current revenue) ÷ 6 = Monthly requirement
We did this math with a client last week. She needed $47K per month for the rest of the year to hit her goal. Her average so far? $12K.
So, that's not a goal anymore. That's a fantasy.
Quadrant 2: Customers
Your revenue is directly tied to two things: how many people buy and how much they spend.
(There’s literally no need to complicate it further)
- New customers Q1+Q2: _____
- Average transaction value: $_____
- Customer lifetime value: $_____
- Repeat purchase rate: _____%
Compare these to last year.
If your customer count is up but revenue is flat, you're attracting the wrong people or selling the wrong things.
If your customer count is flat but revenue is up, you're onto something. Double down.
If both are flat or down? You're in trouble.
Quadrant 3: Activity
This is where people lie to themselves most.
List your top 5 time-consuming activities from the past 6 months. Next to each, write the direct revenue it generated (or your best possible guess).
Example:
- Podcast appearances: 12 hours → $0
- Email newsletters: 48 hours → $67K
- Instagram content: 96 hours → $3K
- Course updates: 40 hours → $0
- Sales calls: 28 hours → $84K
See the disconnect?
Most people spend 80% of their time on activities that generate 20% of their revenue. Or worse… no revenue at all.
Quadrant 4: Systems
Systems create leverage. Without them, you're just trading time for money with extra steps.
Answer honestly:
- Can your business run for 2 weeks without you? Yes/No
- Do you have documented processes for core activities? Yes/No
- Is your sales process automated or manual?
- Do you have at least ONE evergreen funnel in place?
- What percentage of revenue comes from recurring/passive sources? _____%
If you answered "No" to the first two and "Manual" to the third, you don't have a business. You have a job with irregular paychecks.
The results
Based on your answers above, you fall into one of four categories:
Category 1: The ascending (High revenue growth + High systems)
You're actually building something. Your revenue is growing AND you're creating leverage. Keep going.
Category 2: The grinders (High revenue growth + Low systems)
You're making money but killing yourself. Every dollar requires your direct involvement. This breaks eventually.
Category 3: The optimists (Low revenue growth + High systems)
You've built a beautiful machine that produces a big fat NOTHING. Great systems, wrong focus.
Category 4: The deniers (Low revenue growth + Low systems)
You're busy being busy. No growth, no leverage, no future.
If you're in Category 1, the next 6 months are about multiplication.
If you're in Categories 2-4, the next 6 months are about transformation.
Picture December 31st, 2025. You're reviewing your year.
Future A: You kept doing what you're doing. Same activities, same results, same excuses. Your 2025 looks remarkably like 2024, just with different dates.
Future B: You used this wake-up call. You stopped confusing motion with progress. You focused on what multiplies revenue, not what fills time.
The distance between these futures isn't 6 months.
It's one decision.
Treating July as a pivot point.
Every successful business I've studied or worked with has pivot points. Moments where they stopped playing small and started playing smart.
For many, that moment is July.
Why?
- 6 months of data to analyze
- 6 months to course-correct
- Competitors are coasting through summer
- Buyers are planning Q4 investments
- Momentum built now compounds through December
But only if you stop lying to yourself about where you are.
What happens next?
Three things separate businesses that explode in the second half from those that explain why they didn't:
- Radical honesty: They face the numbers without excuses
- Ruthless focus: They cut what doesn't directly drive revenue
- Relentless execution: They work the system, not their emotions
Notice what's not on that list?
- More strategies
- Better tools
- Perfect timing
- Lucky breaks
Because you don't need new information. You need new actions.
If you're serious about making the next 6 months different from the last 6, you have 48 hours to:
- Complete the 4-Quadrant reality check (honestly)
- Identify your category
- Choose your December 31st future
- Cut three activities that don't directly generate revenue
- Double down on what's actually working
That's it.
Some of you will read this, nod along, then check Instagram.
Some of you will save it "for later" (which means never).
But a few of you… the ones who are tired of pretending busy equals successful, will do the work.
In 6 months, the difference will be obvious.
To everyone.
Including your bank account.
If you just did that 4-Quadrant reality check and your numbers made you want to close your laptop and pretend this email never happened...
We should talk.
Reality checks like this are part of what I do with my consultancy clients. Cut through the BS, find the real problems, fix what actually matters.
I've never talked about it… only mentioned it inside a friend's paid community where I've worked with a handful of business owners.
But after seeing how many of you are grinding yourselves into the ground for 3% growth (with problems far bigger than emails), I'm opening up 3 spots.
Here's the deal:
We talk twice a month. Real talk. Not the bullshit you tell your mastermind group. The actual numbers, the actual problems, the actual solutions.
Between calls? You get direct access to me via chat, Monday through Friday.
Stuck on something? Send me a message.
Need to gut-check a decision? I'm there.
Want someone to call you on your BS before you waste another quarter? That's literally what you're paying me for.
$900/month.
Minimum 3 months commitment because transformation doesn't happen in 30 days and I'm not interested in band-aid solutions.
(You can still pay monthly though, no extra cost)
That’s it. There’s no sales page for it.
What I have is 7 years of seeing what actually moves the needle in 6 and multi-6 figure businesses, distilled into exactly what YOU need to hear.
If your 2025 is on track to look like 2024 with a different calendar, reply to this email. Tell me your biggest revenue bottleneck in one sentence.
I'll know within 30 seconds if I can help you fix it.
Your next 6 months are waiting.
P.S. If you did the math and it scared you, good. Fear is just clarity wearing a Halloween mask. Now you know exactly what needs to change. The question is: will you change it, or just change the subject?