Sunny Patel

When we pulled the actual numbers through July, the picture was different. Revenue was on pace, but margin had quietly dropped four points since June. Nobody had noticed, because "busy" and "profitable" aren't the same thing, and nobody was tracking the difference month to month.

You're halfway through 2026. Six months down, six to go. This is when most business owners feel one of two things: Confidence ("We're on track, Q2 was strong, H2 will be good") or concern ("We're behind where I thought we'd be, I'm worried about Q4").