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.

With the end of another quarter imminent, our business is re-thinking the way in which we do business. There are operational changes, a new management team and a number of strategic overhauls that will help our business navigate a new era.

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?

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.

Imagine your sales team sitting in your office discussing the reasons why they didn't make the sales projections for the last quarter. They talk about how hard they have worked, and that they think it is either bad time of year, or something has changed in the market. Furthermore, they say to you that they think your marketing is either not effective or worse, non-existent.

It doesn't take long to realise that some marketing professionals are more competent and successful than others because they inherently have skills that other's don't. You can get by as a marketer with sound writing skills, a firm understanding of marketing with continuous training and development. Most employers would be happy with this, and I have to say that I find employees that have this background to be more than ok. However, if you truly want to be successful, and out-shine the rest of the pack, you need this skill:

It happens. You have all the best intentions and for some reason your marketing strategy isn't working. Believe it or not, it has happened to some of the biggest businesses on the planet; think Kodak and Microsoft. 

The last quarter in Australia is always a tricky one. With public holidays, grand finals, racing carnivals, school holidays and the festive season parties, many sales and marketing professionals put their foot off the accelerator.

Who has fallen in love with the 'new shiny toy' and forgotten about their old one's?

I have definitely done this so many times. My mentor always says to me "The new girl is always prettier than the girl you took to the dance". So true. I can attest to that.

Startups are hard work, require a lot of resilience and often are flawed with the fact that many are not adequately funded to a) hire the right people b) to marketing the business c) to have the infrastructure in place for growth.