Before You Set Q2 Goals, Ask Yourself This First Artwork

Promote Yourself to CEO | Small Business Strategy for Women Entrepreneurs

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Promote Yourself to CEO | Small Business Strategy for Women Entrepreneurs

Before You Set Q2 Goals, Ask Yourself This First

March 26, 2026 • Racheal Cook MBA: Small Business Owner, Entrepreneur, Business Growth Strategist

0:00 | 26:55

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Most Q2 plans are built for a version of you that doesn't exist. The version with unlimited energy, zero personal obligations, and no curveballs. And then April hits, and you're already behind, already overwhelmed, already wondering what went wrong.

Before you open a planning doc or write a single goal for the next quarter, there's one question worth sitting with first: What do I actually have the capacity to sustain right now?

This episode is a bridge into Q2 — and it starts with the two questions I ask every CEO at the beginning of every retreat before we look at a single number. These aren't warmup questions. They're some of the most strategic questions you can ask yourself as a business owner.

I'm also sharing what this looked like for me personally — including the caregiving season I walked through in 2024 and 2025 and how I kept my business running without it depending on me being at 100%. Because the goal isn't a business that works when everything is perfect. It's a business that keeps working when life is life.

If you're stepping into Q2 with a plan in hand, this episode is what goes underneath it.

In This Episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:

Why the question isn't "what should I do more of?" — and what to ask instead before you finalize any Q2 plan
The two questions I ask at every CEO Retreat before touching a single goal or revenue number
What "CEO you in this season" actually means — and why it's different from CEO you on your best day
The three dimensions of capacity that never show up on your calendar (and why ignoring them is magical thinking, not ambition)
How my business kept running through an intensive caregiving season — and the specific support structures that made that possible
Why planning without accounting for your real capacity isn't ambitious — it's how you end up behind and burned out by May
The reflection questions to sit with before you turn the page into April

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🎤 Thanks for listening! I'll see you next week!

Racheal Cook

Host