Hi everyone, it’s Pat here on a beautiful Thursday afternoon. I know for many of you, this is a pretty exciting day because it’s the last day of school; exciting on different levels because your child might be going into a whole new age group and grade group. Your child might be graduating and then going onto college and moving out. So many emotions, I know, that happen on this particular day.

I had an emotional day too because, for me, at the end of June I meet with my accountant, so my emotions are different than your emotions. However, as a business owner it’s a good thing to meet with your accountant regularly. I’ve had a number of conversations in the last two weeks, in particular, with those of you who are in business, those of you who are entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, mompreneurs. Pick a title, any title. The conversations have focused around today, the fact that this is the end of our school year in North America, and the fact that we’re heading into the summer months, and what does that look like and what does that feel like?

As I was having the conversation with my accountant, it’s interesting because what we do together is put a plan together. I met with him today. I’ll tell you, the real meeting happens at the end of July, because at that point in time, we get the real numbers for the first half of 2018 and then we look at profit and loss, we look at the numbers for year to date, we look at the numbers year over last year, and it gives me a very clear picture, at this point in time, as we head into July and August, and then September.

As I posted as a title for this Facebook Live, what is the real question, as we head into summer? This is for all of you out there. Pick up the mirror, have a look, and ask yourself today, at this point in time, are you a hobby owner or you a business owner? That is the question and that’s part of what I was chatting with my accountant about.

Also, what triggered this was I was speaking at an event here in London last week and there were a lot of vendors at the event. The MC and I were having a conversation about who was there, who was coming into my presentation, who was my ideal audience, and I was explaining and describing to him that my ideal audience is entrepreneurs, not hobby owners.

It’s interesting because my accountant and I were talking about this and he said, “Okay, when you come back in July, we’re going to finalize your plan,” but for now, I had a temporary plan mapped out, drafted out – a draft plan, let’s say, for the next three months because here’s what I know for sure, what happens right now is going to reflect in your cash flow in September. What happens right now and what will happen through the months of July and August are going to reflect in your business in the month of September, so the question to you again, part one, are you a hobby owner? In which case, are you hanging up your shingle and saying, “See you in September?” Or are you truly a business owner, in which case you need a plan. You have to have a plan mapped out for the summer.

In North America, it’s the lazy, hazy, days of summer and things are more laid back, but quite frankly, people still need what you have to offer. People need what I have to offer. I’m going to be around. I’m open for business, and I’ll tell you, I usually make most of my money in my industry in July. Why? Because many people who call themselves coaches take the summer off, and work part time or very few hours.

Listen, I understand for those of you who are single moms, there’s some necessity around that. I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about a mindset approach and an actual approach to your business.

For those of you who are in business, the next two months are critical so that you don’t find yourself in September, once the kids are back in school, and you’re looking up and looking around and going, “Crap, I have no clients because I have not been prospecting, I’ve not been keeping the sales funnel full, and now I have to accelerate in September to make sure I have clients, I have money, I can pay my bills, and I can live the lifestyle that I want.”

Those are the questions to be asking yourself. The bottom line is to identify what category are you in. If you’re the business owner, you need to have a plan put together. You have to stay at it through the months of July and August.

You can do business differently. I network differently in the summer. I’ll network at the beach. I’ll make plans to have patio lunches. So I network differently, I do business differently, but I am open for business.

Again, the question to ask yourself, are you a hobby owner? Are you putting the shingle away for the summer? In which case, September is going to hurt.

Are you a business owner? In which case, you need a plan. If you have the plan, kudos to you. If you don’t, I can help. Private message me. I am around, I am open for business, and I would be so happy to help you create a plan so you have a fabulous September coming right around the corner. That’s it. Food for thought today. I’ll talk to you all soon.