Half the year is behind you. Here's what to look at in your numbers right now — while you still have six months to do something about it. A practical mid-year financial check-in for service business owners.

Once you understand the 5 jobs your profit is responsible for, you can finally stop guessing at revenue targets and start reverse-engineering the exact number your business needs to thrive.

Profit = Revenue − Expenses (on your P&L). But profit is not the same thing as cash.

Think of profit as an employee with five different job responsibilities. If it doesn't earn enough to fund all five, something doesn't get paid — and that something is usually you, or your tax bill, or your future.

The difference between a thriving business and one that's barely surviving often comes down to one critical skill: understanding and managing your cash flow rhythms.