As you begin to start the second half of the year, you should take time now to revise your business goals. 

Follow the 5 Ps as you plan for the second half of the year.

The 5 Ps concept was introduced to me earlier this year through Amy Porterfield’s coaching program. She created these to help her members do their quarterly planning. I have found the 5 Ps to be very helpful in my business planning, so I thought I would share them with you.

Examining Your Opportunities

The 5 Ps is a lens to use to evaluate your opportunities so you can make essential decisions on how you will conduct business during times when it’s not business as usual. As you know, circumstances will not always be in your control, so focus your energy on what is in your control, make decisions, and keep moving forward.

1. PIVOT - Do you need to PIVOT anything in your business?

Look at what you’re already doing in your business and ask yourself if you need to pivot your messaging, session fees, pricing, or services.

What processes and procedures are you putting in place to ensure your customers are comfortable working with you? Will you wear a mask when doing sessions in the studio? Will you continue to have In-Person Sales? How will you communicate these changes to your customers?

2.  PAUSE - Do you need to PAUSE anything in your business temporarily?

What expense do you have that you may not need until your business picks up? Call your vendors and see if you can negotiate a lesser price for a few months.

If you photograph “mini-sessions,” will you have to space out your session times to limit the contact between your customers?

You may pause on hiring additional help until things pick up in the Fall.

Do NOT pause on revenue-generating expenses like selling software, Adobe Creative Cloud, or your email service provider. There are also certain investments like coaching programs, and online courses that can be instrumental in your ongoing success, so think about the value these bring to the growth of your business.

3. PURGE - Do you need to PURGE anything in your business?

Here’s how to answer that question. Think about the tasks and activities that you probably should have stopped doing months ago. You know, at your gut level, what those are. Reflect on what might be getting in the way of moving your business forward to bigger and better opportunities that better serve you.  

Now maybe an excellent time to make this shift and realign your business in a new way.

4. PROVIDE - Do you need to PROVIDE anything new in your business?

What can you offer free or paid that will provide new opportunities for your customers? Maybe you can start doing your consultations and sales sessions virtually on Zoom. Holding remote meetings will save your customers from having to take time to come to your studio to achieve the same result they can get using online conferencing technology. Remember, many families have children with them all day now, so you can offer this service as a benefit.

Consider delivering the finished portraits to your customers’ homes. Use this opportunity as a marketing activity by getting a photograph of them holding your images and ask them for a testimonial to use on your website. Think of one or two new things that would result in a win-win with your customer.

5. PLAN - What do you need to PLAN for the next quarter?

It’s vital that you plan for future quarters: the more planning you can do, the better.

Use this next week to begin planning for the second half of the year. If you take the time to do this, you will have a better chance of achieving  your goals for the next six months.

If you would like more information, I have also written another article on The 5 Ways to Keep Your Business Running Smoothly.