When I started my business, I set it up exactly the way my fellow independents set up theirs.
I hung out my shingle as a communications consultant and looked for my first gig.
And then, within weeks of setting up shop – I was busy exchanging time for money. I worked X many hours and made X amount per hour.
I smartened up quickly and started project billing vs. hourly billing (although it required some education as many companies were resistant to the project-billing notion). But at least I was getting paid based on value vs. time.
Fast forward a year, a new baby and coach training under my belt. Then I was busy setting up my coaching business, plotting out how many one-to-one private clients I needed to make to meet my revenue goals. I still have my initial notebook filled with client scenarios…”If I have four clients a day, three days a week at X amount, I’m doing ok.”
Of course in this scenario, I never really accounted for how realistic it would be to have 12-15 current clients at any given time – both from a client attraction/retention perspective, but also from a delivery standpoint.
If you’re a service-based business, I bet you can relate to a version of this scenario.
Fortunately, I quickly realized that this model was neither sustainable nor scalable. It required me showing up 100% to make money. The bottom line was – if I wasn’t available – I wasn’t getting paid. So much for the dream of a freedom and flexibility.
This wasn’t going to work for me. There had to be a better way.
Over the next few months, I poured hours and dollars into learning the nuts and bolts of online marketing. I took training programs, hired coaches and spoke with peers about how to build a thriving company based on a business model that would serve me vs. me serving it.
And it’s paid off.
I’ve since run programs, launched products and created additional revenue streams to my mix. I still do private coaching (although this is phasing out) but my business portfolio is diversified and not reliant on ONE source of income to meet my revenue goals.
It’s given me the freedom I desire, the income I require and a lather-rinse-repeat process to add to my marketing calendar each year.
If you’re still trading time for money, what’s stopping you from adding a new revenue stream to your mix?
- What if you could spend a concentrated chunk of time creating a product or program that would benefit your audience AND your bottom line?
- What if a new offer could position you as an expert, set you apart from your competition (all competing for the same time-for-money clients) and bring in some recurring income?
- What if your business was a bustling Ecommerce center where your ideal clients could get their needs and wants met through products, programs AND your one-to-one time?
I know this can feel overwhelming and a bit daunting. Where do you start? What do you create? How do you launch it? How do you promote it? What if nobody buys it?
These are important questions, but there are answers to them.
Please join me in a free training series webinar where we dive deep into how you can create a profitable business of your own design.
Register here: http://ideatooffer.com/
Photo Credit: vagabond by nature
