We’re more than halfway through the year (wow!), and there’s no better time than now to take a look at what’s gone right, what’s gone wrong, and what you can do to improve in the second half of 2014. Start with these areas, as suggested by the Inc.com “3 Questions Every Business Owner Needs to Ask Themselves In July.”

1. What’s working? Take a look at your annual plan and see what you’ve accomplished. How do your sales compare to projections, and to those of previous years? What non-sales objectives have you achieved (physical repairs and improvements, networking, hiring, training, etc.)? What parts of your marketing plan have been exceptional? Make sure you get your staff involved in the process!
2. Where are you falling behind (and how can you catch back up)? While identifying what’s working, you undoubtedly noticed some things that aren’t. These slow summer months are the best time to do some brainstorming on how you can fix these problem areas. If something isn’t working, it’s not going to fix itself – get your whole team and identify a bunch of new ideas to turn these issues around. Then test them in small doses to see what you want to implement for good.
3. What’s changed in your market? It’s not all about what you’re doing. Over the last six months, some things have probably changed in your market, and your plan needs to adjust accordingly. Is there any new competition, or competitors that have left the market? Have the competition’s strategies changed in a way that you can exploit? What are the latest trends among your target market? Have perceptions of your business changed?

Click here to read the article from Entrepreneur.com.