Mid-Year Business Check-In

Where Do You Stand Heading Into the Second Half of the Year?

We're approaching the halfway point of the year. For many of us, January feels like yesterday.

We started the year with plans, goals, initiatives, growth targets, personal commitments, and a vision of where we hoped to be by now. Some things have worked exactly as intended. Some have taken longer than expected. And some have taught us lessons we never planned to learn.

As I look around our business community, one thing continues to stand out: there is an incredible amount of wisdom, experience, talent, and perspective sitting all around us, yet many of us spend most of our time trying to solve challenges on our own.

The Isolation Nobody Talks About

Business ownership, leadership, and growth can be deeply rewarding. They can also be isolating.

Many of the best ideas I've ever received didn't come from a consultant, a book, or a podcast. They came from a conversation with another business owner, executive, or professional who had simply been down a similar road before. Someone who had already made the mistake, or figured out the shortcut, or seen the same pattern play out in a different industry.

That kind of wisdom doesn't show up in a Google search. It shows up in a real conversation.

So rather than another post about accomplishments, I thought it might be worthwhile to do a mid-year check-in, not just for my own team, but as an open invitation to the people I respect most in this community.

If You Had to Give Yourself a Score Today...

Where would you land?

1️⃣ Best year-to-date you've ever had

2️⃣ Good year so far and optimistic about where things are headed

3️⃣ About the same as last year

4️⃣ Need to make some adjustments to finish the year the way you'd like

More importantly: what's the biggest reason behind your answer?

Not because anyone is keeping score. Because someone reading your response may be facing the exact same challenge, opportunity, or decision, and your honesty might be exactly what they needed to hear.

What the Second Half Could Look Like

That's one of the greatest opportunities available to all of us right now: to use the second half of the year more intentionally than we used the first.

To learn from each other more deliberately. To make a few more introductions. To schedule a few more coffees. To share a lesson that took years to learn. To ask for help sooner than feels comfortable, and to offer it more freely than feels necessary.

To turn a collection of professional headshots into a genuine community of people helping one another succeed.

I'll Start

For our team, I'd put us at a 2.

We're seeing many of the initiatives we intentionally designed beginning to take hold. Some faster than expected, some slower, but the direction is encouraging and the momentum feels real. We're clear on where we're headed, and that clarity makes the work easier, even when the work is hard.

Now it's your turn.

Share your score and, if you're willing, the reason behind it. I'd genuinely enjoy hearing what's working, what's challenging, and what you're seeing as we head into the second half of the year. The more honest and specific, the more useful it becomes for everyone reading along.

Note to Advisors

This post is a strong model for the kind of engagement-first content that builds trust over time without requiring a hard pitch. The poll format combined with a personal answer from Larry creates psychological safety for readers to respond authentically. If you adapt this format, consider making it a recurring touchpoint, whether quarterly check-ins, seasonal reflections, or milestone moments. The goal is to be the person who opens the conversation, not the one waiting to close the deal.

— Larry Stiver
Founder, Stiver Financial Services

The Business Un-Complicators

P.S. If your score is a 3 or a 4, you're not behind. You're just being honest about where you are. That honesty is usually the first step toward a second half that looks very different from the first.

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