The Great International Sleepover

In May co-host Jared and I talked about the World Cup in an episode of 12PointFive minutes. While my cousins and I were having an actual sleepover at the in real life 12PointFive house, America was hosting a sleepover for our international cousins in honor of the World Cup. One of my favorites was people responding to a British woman who thought Buzzballs (a female-founded brand!) were energy drinks.

I will admit to making some dire predictions about what the World Cup would bring. (Hey, we’re a little embarrassing right now and I was in a weird headspace, ok?) I have been absolutely delighted to see how well we get along when our parent governments aren’t in the way.

US Women’s World Cup in Brazil 2027

And despite the U.S. getting smoked in the knockout stage which I watched with, you guessed it, my cousins, I have loved having World Cup soccer as our rainy day entertainment and social currency as we go through the summer.

My grandmother has a new favorite athlete (Ronaldo) and it was a good reminder for all the people that wanted the USMNT to go all the way, that the record breaking US Women’s Team plays in Brazil next year.

Mid -Year Check-ins

In between watching World Cup games and managing the logistics of summer camps, I have been checking in on the business, as I like to do around this time of year. Some highlights of taking stock:

New B Corp Standards: I will need to renew my B Corp certification next year with the new standards. Several business owners I know have opted not to renew the certification but to maintain their network of purpose driven businesses without the designation. One complaint I hear from those business owners is that B Corp is not doing a good enough job of building the brand awareness that makes the certification seem like a worthy expense.

That’s why I read B Corp’s article on the growth of their brand awareness in 2025. I find I still have to explain what B Corp is to people outside the network, but so far, expanding my network among those in the know has been worth it.

Outreach/Marketing: At our June We The Change member meeting last month, we talked about marketing. We specifically talked about the ROI of newsletters and a cohort of purpose driven marketing professionals shared their insights on what works best. With that in mind, I added a section to my newsletter about who should work with me and when. And if you’re reading this on the blog, not the newsletter, consider signing up!

Profitability: Looking at the two sides of the profitability equation, ie. What’s coming in and what’s going out, I am taking a long look at expenses for the second half of the year. Recently for my personal account, I cancelled several subscriptions that I don’t use enough to justify the cost or whose cost went up after a trial and I didn’t realize it.

At the business level, figuring out the need to haves versus the nice to haves has made me rethink not only what I’m paying for, but also pricing what I’m delivering. If I need these tools to deliver, pricing needs to reflect that.

I recently negotiated a cost of living adjustment (COLA) for my hourly rate with a client and that gives me some piece of mind as the cost of the tools, office supplies and software I use keep going up.

I hope your mid-year check in finds you with a lot of wins to celebrate on the World Cup stage and in your business.