Business Systems, Processes & Revenue
Do you ever feel like you can’t generate the revenue you want as quickly as you want in your business?
You’re talented. You hustle. You know your stuff. So the revenue should just follow, right?
Generating consistent revenue isn’t easy for most business owners and entrepreneurs.
Average Revenue for Small Business
The median income for small business owners is $51,419 for incorporated business owners and $25,240 for unincorporated business owners. Most business owners start out as unincorporated.
Another source reports that the range is from $30,000 to $149.000.
86.3% of small business owners take a salary of less than $100.000.
How to Increase Revenue
There are many tactics and activities to engage in that can increase revenue.
What do they all have in common?
They are all based in systems and processes.
The reason systems and processes are a solid path that leads you to increased revenue is because they do two things:
1) systems and processes are repeatable and some can be delegated, freeing up more of your time.
2) having systems and processes in place that you expect to lead to more revenue and implementing them or delegating them on a regular basis, will help you see what is working in your business and what’s not.
Think about it like this… say you’re a service provider, and you spend most of your day serving your clients, helping them build their businesses in some way. That doesn’t leave you very much time to build your business. And often, at the end of the day, revenue-generating activities just don’t get done.
But they have to get done to grow your business. generate more revenue.
Haviing the right systems can help you be accountable to your business to either do the activities or hire someone else to do them for you. .
Business Systems and Processes – How to Use Systems to Generate Revenue
Targeted, Business-Building Systems and Processes
Targeted business-building systems are systems that are designed and built with a specific goal in mind executed in a specific time period.
Here are some examples of targeted business-building systems and processes for increased revenue:
- Reviewing client activities to see if there are new projects or services you can provide for them
- Making sure that demand-generation activities are being implemented daily (I have learned so much from Terri Maxwell and Shift/Co on this.)
- Finding ways to save time (automation, streamlined processes) resulting in time savings, reduced expenses, and increased revenue.
- Managing cash flow weekly by staying on top on accounts receivables and planning for future expenditures and investments
- Building relationships and networking
Not every activity, system or process is a direct path to cash but they all lead to increased revenue. Some take long than others and have additional benefits.
It’s up to you as business owner to know which one you need to implement first.
Now, that you’re ready to do this… let’s do this!
Eight Steps to Take to Increase Revenue with Systems and Processes
- After thoughtful examination of your business, decide which targeted, business-building systems makes sense to work on first. – This is going to depend on your immediate goals and infrastructure. If you want to increase client revenue, you’ll need to look at what services you provide that are proven to generate cash flow, and build a system around that.
- In a spreadsheet or whatever works best for you, record it as a goal with an end date in mind. – Experts say that it takes about 3 months of specific, repetitive action to bring in a new client. End of quarter is a reasonable end date to bring in new revenue. This is my experience, too.
- In the same spreadsheet, underneath the goal, write in the steps you need to take to reach your revenue goal. This will be your process. – Think about how you’ve gotten clients in the past – freebie offers, events, referral partners – or new things you want to try – local networking if you’re an online business owner, for example. Break down all the steps, incrementally. Build that system!
- Add due dates to the steps. – Due dates help you be accountable to yourself and your business. Note that some steps in the system may be repetitive. Decide how you want to notate all this.
- Add your revenue-generating process to your project management software. – It’s easier to live in PM software than to live in a spreadsheet, especially if you have team members that you’ll delegate some tasks in the system to.
- Review your systems and apps periodically to make sure you are using them to the full and they still make sense for your business.
- Review. – Check on your processes and your date goals at the end of the month, minimally, or as often as makes sense to keep you in touch with progress.
- Make adjustments as needed.
These few basic steps can be used to build out any system you want to build in your business, but especially helpful in generating revenue. The key to remember is that your systems and processes are what drive your business. They create consistency, save time and money, and give you insight data that help you see what’s working and what isn’t.
If you’d like to talk in more detail about how I can help you build revenue-generating systems, schedule a FREE Discovery Session here.
If you missed the two previous blogs in the series on systems, click the links below for access:
Business Systems – What Are They & Why You Need Them
Business Systems – 5 Ways to Achieve Organic or Planned Growth
Are you the DIY type? Get your FREE planning checklist now.
