Increase Revenue
As we prepare to close out the year, our minds focus on whether or not we’ve met out business goals for the year, one being sales goals + resulting profit. We make plans to implement what we need to in order to increase revenue and finish as strong as possible this year, and strengthen our position for next year.
The main focus is almost always growth. To achieve growth, our goals most often revolve around our products or services, our team, how we are going to get ourselves “out there”, our processes, and our finances.
Budgeting is the Foundation to Increase Revenue
The easiest way to plan for growth in the year ahead is to start with finances. Our business profit dictates what we can and cannot implement. It’s a simple as that. Preparing a budget is the foundation. If you business income is the only source of income for your family, then you need to prepare a business budget and a personal budget because the two are very closely woven together.
While prepare a yearly budget seems like a lengthy, tedious task, it is actually a great source of freedom once it’s done. It takes time. How long it takes depends on how great of a record keeper you are. But when you look at the finished product, see your projected yearly income, and your operating profit margin, you are going to be excited about the potential for your business.
Products and Services – How You Bring Home the Bacon
When it comes to evaluating our products and services, it’s time to check our egos at the door. What we offer is often so much an extension of ourselves that it can be hard to make an honest assessment. If you have an assistant or business or project manager, enlist their help here.
For each product or service, ask yourself:
- How did it perform this year?
- Were clients and followers interested in it?
- Did you make any sales? If so, how many?
- What is the ROI on it?
- If it didn’t do well, was it because something needs tweaking or because you don’t have your lead offers in place and your leads were not properly nurtured?
Answering each of these questions will help you know where to go next with what you have and what new products or services you should implement in the coming year.
Your Team = Your Revenue
What stage is your business in? Are you in the just starting out stage? Are you in the solopreneur stage but beginning to feel like you’re busting at the seams because of the workload? Do you have a small team but you know you need a Virtual Assistant, Project Manager, or Online Business Manager to help with growth implementation? Or are you at the agency level, and you need to reallocate assets and bring on a new manager to continue growth?
Where you’re at makes a difference in how you build out your team.
Last year, I added an assistant because things had gotten to the point that I just could not do it all, and it was stressing me out! So I took on my first team member. It was scary because I knew I then had to consistently make enough for both of us. It was also one of the best decisions I’ve made. I added another team member to help with a specialized service that I offer, another good decision.
The point is, building a team helps you grow your business, aka increase revenue. It allows you to do more of what you do. The key is getting the right person in place. It really does have to be a good fit.
Increase Revenue Through Exposure
Exposure. It all boils down to good marketing.
You may be doing “some marketing”. The occasional dabble in it is just not enough. You have to make a conscious effort to be regular and to be seen.
There are three keys to “get yourself out there”:
- Create a daily system of getting things done.
- Find at least one accountability partner. A few more makes it more fun but don’t get so many that you don’t have time to support them all.
- “Just do it.” ~Nike~ Don’t wait for perfection (it’ll never happen). Don’t wait until you get all your client work done (there’s always more to do).
Internal Processes and Systems = Efficiency in Execution = Revenue
We’ve all been hearing about processes and systems for decades. Think of the old, dusty business manual that never got used in Corporate America. But seriously, we need processes to do our work. It saves time. Time = money.
Look at it this way. Say you bring on a new team member and want them to do X, Y, and Z. What happens if you don’t have any systems in place?
One of two things will happen:
- You either get lucky because you hired a processes expert who’s a self-starter, and they’ll create your systems for you, or
- You, having the processes in your head, will have to do a massive brain dump on the new team member.
The key to systems is two-fold. First, your annual plans feed into your day-to-day operations. So you need to create all of your annual plans, down to every single launch task list. Second, for each area of your day-to-day operations, you need a step-by-step SOP guide with an overview of the operation. This can be created by you, preferably your trusted assistant or the team member responsible for the task.
If that seems like a lot to you, consider this: If you ever want to sell your business, you’ll need this in place for any prospective buyer.
Wrapping it Up
So you want to increase your revenue next year? Planning is key. The likelihood of it happening with a plan is much greater than without one. It’s a numbers game. Not your wheelhouse, or too much on your plate to go it alone right now? Then reach out to someone who does this kind of thing for assistance. I am happy to offer a free 15-minute consultation to get the process started for you either way. Email me at: starr@starroldorff.com. Already have plans? Please share in the comments below.
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