The Mid-Year Reset: My 5 Tips to Prepare Your Business for Your Best Autumn/Winter Yet
The incredible Sophie Hannah & I at my last Get On It with Jen planning workshop
It’s the end of July, which means the school summer holidays are officially here—whatever that looks like for your household.
For me it’s at home with our 5 and 2 year old, sharing the childcare with my husband Ben, and my amazing mother, who looks after the kids once a week for us too (we know we are extremely lucky to have this support).
I must be honest and say that 3 hours after school had finished, my husband and I looked at each other and said ‘do we really have 6 weeks of this?’. Because it started with the kids arguing and us all exhausted… I can report that 4 days later things feel slightly smoother and I am so excited about spending the summer all together (juggling in a positive way all the craziness!).
As a business coach who works with both service and product based businesses, I know this season brings a unique shift in energy. If you run a service-based business, things often slow down in August. And this is totally normal. This lull is actually a massive gift. It is the perfect window to lay the groundwork for Autumn, which is historically my absolute favourite season for service-business growth. On the flip side, if you run a product-based business, summer is such an exciting time to do your business planning and get super clear on your forward plan (think maximising Christmas sales).
Instead of just drifting through August, I’m using this month to intentionally reset, let ideas flow, organise and plan. Here are the 5 things I am doing in my business right now to ensure a relaxing break and a successful transition into September.
1. Mapping out a realistic, fun Summer schedule
Before you can focus on strategy or organisation, you need to know exactly how much time you actually have. Whether you want to work full-time through the Summer, scale back your hours, or take the entire month of August off, you need a clear plan.
If you have children, this is the absolute first thing you should do. Trying to wing it week-by-week only leads to feeling guilty when you're working, and stressed when you're parenting.
Before August officially begins, I highly recommend sitting down with your partner, family, or childcare support to map out your Summer calendar together.
This is how I approached it… I sat down and made sure I was clear on my client commitments, and double checked I had no clashes with holiday or birthday commitments (the Summer is a busy time with my birthday and family birthdays!). I have then communicated with clients if I have to move sessions around (this is something I do very rarely but the whole point of working for yourself is to be able to do the fun things, right?!).
I then said to my husband that we need to find the time to go through the Summer schedule together. We then sat down on our gorgeous cosy garden sofa. And then the kids started arguing over toys (again!). We persisted though, and after about an hour we had managed to go through the Summer schedule week by week. We made sure we were both aware of our work schedules and also fun social plans we have. The result? A positive feeling that we have a great Summer planned, with a mix of family time and business growth (we are both self employed so this focus is critical).
My Summer planning checklist:
Define roles and responsibilities: Who is on ‘parent duty’ on which days? - This gives you clarity on who is making the parenting decisions during the main part of the day.
Working hours: What hours are you working from and til on your work days? - This helps you respect each others time.
Block out deep-work days: Setting clear boundaries for the specific days you need to be 100% focused on business growth - make sure this is clearly communicated and consider going to a cowork space for this.
Schedule the fun stuff: Pre-book family day trips, holidays, and dedicated memory-making time. Make sure work doesn’t infiltrate these days - put some boundaries in place if you need to.
Knowing exactly when you are working and when you are playing means you can fully commit to both and feel fully present for your family (which I know can be such a challenge at times).
2. Booking a ‘CEO Day’ away from your desk
When you work from home (even if that’s a separate office space), the same four walls can eventually stifle your creativity. To get a true, high-level view of your business strategy, you have to physically remove yourself from your daily routine.
This summer, I am booking a whole day to myself to work in a fresh space in town. I haven’t decided where yet, but it will be a favourite local cafe or a trendy co-working spot.
There have been so many business ideas flowing recently, and this September is an exciting time for our family as our youngest starts pre school 1 day a week. That 1 day a week is going to be huge for headspace and also great for his development I know (he asks about going to pre-school on the daily since his settling in sessions!). Anyway, the reason this time away from the ‘office’ is important, is because this gives your brain a chance for the creativity to flow. It is a chance for you to ask important questions, like ‘Am I still loving my business?’. It’s a chance for you to really re-evaluate what you offer and consider what you want the next stage to look like. I am so excited for this day, because I really feel like September is the start of a fresh new year!
So get your diary out now and book your CEO Day for August now :)
The agenda for my CEO Day:
Strategy Review: Digging into what I’m loving and what isn't serving me anymore. Plus rewriting parts of my business strategy ready for September.
Goal Resetting: Looking at where I am at the halfway mark of the calendar year and setting realistic, exciting milestones for the coming months. I will do this for both personal and business goals because they are so interlinked. This includes target client and financial goals.
Marketing strategy: Reflecting on my marketing over the past 6 months and planning out the upcoming marketing strategy for my business.
Financials: Reviewing my financials from the last 12 months, looking at my forecast for the upcoming months. Plus mapping out my budget for spending for the rest of the year.
CEO Tip: If you've been feeling sluggish or uninspired, changing your physical environment is a proven way to boost productivity. Buy yourself a great coffee, open a fresh notebook, and step back into the role of the visionary founder. If you want some extra help you can download my GoalGetting Goodies to help you with my guided workbook.
3. Workspace decluttering
It’s incredibly hard to focus on big Autumn goals or exciting Winter product launches when you are staring at a pile of crumpled sticky notes, old receipts, and half-empty coffee mugs. So this Summer I am also going a deep clean of my office. This includes:-
Emptying the drawers: Sorting through the hidden chaos and throwing away dried-up pens and outdated paperwork.
Clearing the desktop: Leaving only the absolute essentials required to run my business day-to-day.
Creating a productive vibe: Wiping down surfaces and reorganising my setup so that when I sit down, I feel instantly calm, focused, and ready to create.
Although cleaning and tidying isn’t the most exciting thing in the world, and if you have kids bedrooms full of clutter like me, it probably doesn’t fill you with joy. But starting September with a beautiful workspace is one of the best gifts you can give your business for a clear headspace and ready to welcome in fresh clients/customers!
4. Auditing my digital workspace & tech stack
Just like a messy physical desk, a chaotic digital environment will drag down your momentum when September arrives. Summer is the perfect window to do a digital deep clean.
The Inbox Clean-up: Archiving old emails, setting up smart filters, and ruthlessly unsubscribing from newsletters that I no longer read.
The Tech Audit: Reviewing my software subscriptions. You have probably heard about Mailerlite’s changes with their free plan and therefore I need to look to moving my tech to a new platform (cue me going into slight meltdown mode! Luckily the amazing Nicola Walsh at This Mum Loves Tech is going to help me with this one.
File Organization: Cleaning up desktop screens and organising my Google Drive folders to help with giving me a clear digital headspace.
5. Batching & scheduling content
If you want to actually enjoy your Summer break without the constant guilt of ‘I haven't posted on social media this week’, content batching is your secret weapon. You don’t have to do loads of content. And you don’t have to do any content if you’d rather just take the break from socials (I can say from experience this is a great thing to do and I may still do it in August). Remember to do what feels right for your business. Here is how you can do some batch content:-
Draft in bulk: Use a single afternoon or part of your CEO Day to draft your social posts, emails, or blogs for August.
Automate the delivery: Use a scheduling tool to line everything up so it posts automatically while you're offline - this is easy to do on Insta and LinkedIn (the 2 platforms I use).
Enjoy the payoff: Your business stays visible and consistent, but you get to be fully present with your family or enjoy well-deserved time off.
Ready to Hit the Ground Running in September? 🚀
August doesn’t have to feel quiet or unproductive. And you don’t have to feel guilty for having days out with the family. Be one step ahead and own your Summer plan and enjoy it! By taking a little time out to organise your schedule, align your space, and step out of the daily grind for a strategic reset, you can enjoy a beautifully balanced summer and prepare your business for a highly profitable Autumn / Winter season.
But what happens when September hits and it's time to shift back into high gear?
If you want to ensure your Autumn is your most organised, planned, and successful season yet, you don’t have to do it alone. I’m hosting my signature Get on It With Jen workshops, specifically designed to help you get back into the business mindset, organise your goals, and set up an actionable roadmap for the rest of the year. This is an in person workshop alongside 10 incredible Essex business owners. We’re going to get your business moving and completely organised, prepped, and ready to have your best Autumn/Winter yet. Click below if you want to be on the waitlist.
