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Hey there! 👋
Q1 is wrapping up & before you dive headfirst into Q2 planning mode, I want to propose one exercise that might make you a little uncomfortable.
In the best way, I promise. 😅
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Before you map out your next quarter, take an honest look at the last one. Not vibes-based. Not "I feel like this is working." Actual numbers.
Here's the exercise I want you to try this week.
The Three-Column Reality Check
Open a spreadsheet and build three columns:
Activity or offer
Hours spent
Revenue generated
Fill it in for everything you did in Q1. Client work, content, networking, launches, collabs, all of it. Be brutally honest. No rounding up, no "this is building toward something" justifications.
Just the real numbers.
What You'll Probably Find
If your Q1 looks anything like most creators I talk to, you're going to see a pretty classic 80/20 situation. About 20% of your activities generated 80% of your revenue. The rest? Busy work in disguise.
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The stuff that actually made money is probably embarrassingly straightforward:
Existing client retainers
One specific offer that maybe felt "too simple" to prioritize
Referrals from past clients that cost nothing to generate
The stuff eating your time? Likely the elaborate content strategy, the networking events, the course you poured weeks into.
Likes don't pay the bills. Seeing that confirmed in a spreadsheet hits different than just hearing it. 😬
The Pattern Worth Noticing
Here's the uncomfortable part. Most creators spend the majority of their time on activities that generate a small fraction of their revenue.
And the reason is usually that the high-revenue activities feel too easy or not creative enough to feel like "real work." So we reach for the complicated, time-consuming stuff instead because it feels like hustle.
It isn't. It's just busy.
What to Do With What You Find
Once you have your numbers, ask yourself four questions:
What's actually working?
What's just keeping me busy?
What do I need to do more of?
What do I need to stop entirely?
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Then build your Q2 around the answers, not around what you think you should be doing or what everyone else seems to be doing.
"It feels like I should" is not a strategy. Data is.
Q1 is ending and those numbers are locked in. But Q2 is wide open, and now you have real information to build from instead of guesswork.
That's a pretty good place to start.
💜 Tara
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& that’s all folks!
