If the primary challenge for you in business is finding additional places to store your profit — and the local banks have all filed stalking charges against you due to the near constant appearances you make to deposit funds, you don’t need to keep reading this post. (Instead, email me. My dad can build an addition to your home so you can store all of that extra cash.)
However, if the above paragraph doesn’t describe your primary challenge in business, definitely keep reading. The content below is long and it will — fair warning — feel like a proverbial punch in the gut. But, I promise it will be worth it. Let’s go.
To state the obvious, most business owners are NOT struggling with where to PUT their profit, but how to create MORE profit. As a whole, business owners — be they physicians, attorneys, accountants, consultants, or ship builders — feel frustrated with having to:
- Sell their services when the need for such services should be a no brainer;
- Sell against competitors with far less experience;
- Constantly market / network / advertise when they’d rather be doing what they (actually) do;
- Figure out “the secret” for getting ideal clients or patients that cheerfully pay your fees and refer others; and of course
- Find ways to increase profit, decrease costs, and take some time off.
Bottom line: Why can’t it be EASY? Why can’t we just be the BEST at what we do, and be paid accordingly? Why isn’t being amazing at what we do ENOUGH?
You know, I don’t know a FAIR answer to those questions. BUT, here’s what I can say that will feel like a punch in the gut:
Truth: A lot of what we WISH for in our business is because we feel we DESERVE it. As an aside, for most business owners, I agree with you. I believe you do “deserve it.”
Better Truth: We deserve exactly — and only — what we’re willing to create and orchestrate and make happen in our business.
Let’s move on for a minute, because this is where this post starts getting a bit more challenging.
Very few business owners truly impress me with their business development efforts. Very, very few. You see, MOST business owners ask questions like, “What’s the ONE thing I can do to get the most possible new clients?”
They want the simple, straight, cheap and short path to riches. Of course, you’re here… reading THIS blog, so you’re very likely not like “them.” STILL, here’s a question that humbles most business owners — me included, of course — when they contemplate answering it honestly:
If I were to follow you around for one week, would I be SURPRISED — given what I watch you do, accomplish, finish — that you’re not a multi-Billionaire already? Or would I say, “No WONDER she’s/he’s a billionaire… LOOK at all he’s doing!”
This is MY blog, so let me be the first to say that there are Many, many weeks during which my effort or output would NOT be something I’d be proud to have broadcast on a national reality tv show. In fact, there are some weeks during which my schedule would EMBARRASS me… not hold me out as some national business icon.
For the record, I call B.S. on the 4-Hour Week promise or the “Make a million dollars on a beach while working 1 hour a day in your slippers” nonsense.
The millionaires I know — and the wildly successful business owners I coach…. and ME — we all work. Hard. Sometimes we work long, early or late hours. I’ve YET to meet an exception.
However, I’ve met many, many business gurus promising the NO WORK approach to millions. MOST are deeply in debt (writing off as much as $880K in unsecured debt in public bankruptcy filings) and flat out lying to you.
Let’s get back to this post.
How would you answer that question above? Are YOU — in fact — doing ALL YOU CAN to create the success you want?
Let me tell you about one of my client’s businesses and the strategies / funnels we’ve painstakingly orchestrated, and regularly test and tweak for optimal results… to create an income that — according to statistics — puts them in the top 5% of business owners nation-wide. Here are just a few:
- Organic search engine optimization
- blogging
- referral system including step-by-step strategies for regularly asking for referrals, first introduction to referred party, thank you to person referring, second touch with referred party, additional thank you to person referring, indoctrination of referred person, referral partner party
- social media efforts that are trackable and lead back to our SITE where we capture information instead of leading back to another social media page
- television
- content creation for other sites
- inside sales to existing patients
- employee referral program
- Lost (old) lead campaigns
- print ads with dedicated web site lead capture and specific indoctrination process
- quarterly local events
- and more.
There are a lot of different roads to this person’s business. ALL have orchestrated traffic and a process to make the right people feel that they’re walking in the right direction, with the right business. When I tell you this business brings in six figures in sales A MONTH — are you surprised? NO. But you may be surprised to learn that this business has a very small staff comprised of the owner, one full time employee and one part timer. THAT may surprise you.
By the way, this is what I usually JUST CAN NOT convince — beg, force, manipulate — business owners to do…. CREATE systems, in-roads such as those listed above, that are like spinning plates.
YES, it takes time / effort / money to get them spinning on their own, but far less time / effort / money to KEEP them spinning. And the pay off is exponential. Don’t have the time to do this? Fine by me. Keep wondering where your next lead or client is coming from… keep operating in uncertainty…. Keep wondering why you stop making money when you stop showing up in your business.
Actually, it’s NOT fine by me. I lied. =) Your business will grow leaps and bounds when these things are in place. So, PLEASE stop putting them off. Do this for you, for your income, for the security of your family, your employees. Do this for your peace of mind!
Again, let’s get back to the regularly scheduled post.
Some people will say, YES… I’m doing ALL I CAN to grow my business. And they are half right.
While they are hustling every day, they are doing the same things over and over and hoping for a different result. They keep showing up, networking, buying ads, paying for publicity, shaking hands… thinking ONE DAY, they’ll be rewarded for their consistency. Instead, they need to shift their hustle. They need to get more strategic, do something different and some things differently.
So, what about you? Do you need to do more? Do you need to create more systems / roads to your business? Do you need to do something DIFFERENT or some things DIFFERENTLY? Maybe some combination of all three?
Where will you start?
