How do I run a mid-year audit for my boutique?

A mid-year audit covers six numbers that together form your entire Q3 strategy. Do them in this order for momentum — easiest first. Start with your top ten SKUs by revenue and your dead-on-arrival styles from your Shopify Sales by Product report. Then pull your returning customer rate from the Customers Over Time report. Next, calculate your blended ROAS by adding up ad spend across all platforms and dividing it into your total ad-attributed revenue. Fifth, calculate your email revenue per send from your email platform's campaign data. Finally, tackle gross margin by category using an exported spreadsheet.

Block a three-hour window on Tuesday or Wednesday — tell your team they're covering the floor. Bring your laptop, your logins, and a blank Google Sheet. For each of the six metrics, write one sentence starting with 'Based on this number I will...' and fill in your Q3 action.

Six metrics, six sentences — that document is your Q3 strategy. Don't benchmark against internet strangers; compare yourself to your own first half and your own last year. Your numbers and your history are what matter.