You are either at the half way mark or you have just closed off a financial year - either way, there are some things every entrepreneur should have done in July that really is a game-changer for the rest of the calendar year.

Most companies don't have a business plan, so it's hard to expect that they would have a marketing strategy. But most companies just get by. Do you want to be "most companies" or do you want to be a shining star?

No-one thinks about restructuring when they start a business. They also often don't think about it when it's been going for 2 years or 10 years. But that is a big mistake. Here's why...

When building a business or taking the one you have to the next level, it is important to consider how you want to grow your nest egg. What happens when one marketing campaign turns into a rush for your product and service and is this the way you want to grow? Or do you want to maintain a regular increase in sales month-on-month at a sustainable level so you can keep customer experience at an optimum level and ensure that your team of people are growing with you?

It's that time of year when entrepreneurs, business leaders and marketing professionals re-evaluate their businesses on multiple levels. The market has changed and with this fluid transformation companies are needing to draw on data, research and experience to navigate the future.

From the moment your fingers touch your keyboard, to the endless, tiring hours that your pour your heart and soul into strategising and pondering what your next marketing move is going to be, writing a marketing strategy is an arduous task, but a necessary one.

Marketing strategies mean so many things to so many different people, that there is no standard code - or is there? While I have been using the same marketing strategy format for the past 20 years, I am always alarmed when I see a sales person write up a marketing 'to do list' and proclaim that this is in fact their marketing strategy. Likewise, when an entrepreneur hires a college graduate who writes up a marketing strategy based on the format that they learnt at college, which is out-dated, lacking in relevance and most likely not something that the student has had the ability to actually learn in-depth.

When I first decided to build a AI-based marketing technology platform, I was completely and utterly sure that this was going to be the ride of my life. And it is. Without doubt, it is the best business adventure I have ever had, but it comes with a lot of work, a wild imagination and some technical jargon.

It's mid-way through February and many companies are looking for the secret sauce that this going to make this quarter and the next their biggest yet. You can drill it into your sales people and lure them with a carrot. Cutting costs is always a good way to increase your profits and of course there is marketing. Most marketing departments know what they need to do, but they don't always get around to doing it in the timeframe needed to reach the goals of a company.

As a 20-year entrepreneur, I have learned a few things over the years and some things I have had to learn repetitively until I 'got it'. Learning should be embraced they say, and I agree wholeheartedly but sometimes when you are in the thick of it, it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel let alone the 'why' you needed to learn that lesson again and again.