How I made an extra £60,000 a year in my business by making it *simple* (and you can too)
Love to make more money in your business while spending LESS time on it? Find out the three steps that helped me easily make an extra £60,000 a year.
In January 2017, I was busy doing almost everything in Talented Ladies Club. I was editing and publishing daily articles. Writing weekly newsletters. Posting daily on Twitter and Facebook. Creating and running online courses. Planning and rolling out PR and marketing campaigns. Managing all the admin and bookkeeping. I was even cleaning our office toilet!
So it won’t surprise you to learn that I worked long hours every day – including weekends.
At the time I didn’t think I had any choice. I just thought that was what you do when you run a small business.
But once I started working with serious business coaches I soon realised that how I was running my business wasn’t healthy. It wasn’t sustainable. And it was never going to be profitable.
So, with guidance from my coach, I started looking at each area of my business and designing steps to make it work smarter and, more importantly, work with less of me.
This exercise had transformed my business just 12 months later, and continues to do so.
In November 2020, Talented Ladies Club made 38 TIMES more profit than it did in January 2017. And our profit margin in November 2020 was 74%, compared to just 34% in January 2017. So it’s not just earning more, it’s a more profitable business model too.
And the best part? I now work part time on my business. So I’m making MUCH more money, in much less time.
So what were the steps that got me here, and how can you replicate them?
Step 1: Find your ‘moneymakers’
Most businesses and freelancers have more than one offering. You may have multiple products or services, or just different ways of ‘packaging up’ what you do.
And not all of your offerings are equal. There will be some that are easier to sell, and make you more money for less effort. They’re your ‘moneymakers’, and the first step is to identify what they are.
Because if you can prioritise your moneymakers, guess what happens? You make more money for less effort.
So make a list of everything you sell and start recording how much time you spend on each one every week (including marketing them) and how much you make from each. This will quickly show you where your money is (or could) be coming from.
This simple exercise revealed a surprise moneymaker in Talented Ladies Club that now brings in an average of £5,000 a month for little time or effort.
Step 2: Eliminate your ‘lossmakers’
Once you know what’s making you money, there’s no reason to continue to flog products or services that sell poorly, eat into your precious time and make you little money. In other words, your ‘lossmakers’.
And not just products and services, but activities you know aren’t really bringing in the money, as easy and enjoyable as they may be.
The time and energy you invest in these no-hopers or poor seconds is much better spent selling your moneymakers, working on other profit-making parts of your business, or just enjoying with friends and family. (As a bonus, the more refreshed and happy you are, the more ideas and energy you’ll have for your business too.)
Sometimes it’s hard to let go of a product, service or activity. You might think (or hope) that it may one day pay off, or you may just enjoy it. But the numbers never lie, and if you are putting time into it and it’s not repaying you with money, it needs to go to make space for your moneymakers.
Step 3: Start showing off your bananas
One of the wisest things my business coach, way back in 2017, ever said to me was that I was ‘hiding my bananas’.
What she meant was that I wasn’t proudly selling my offering. If anything I was hiding it. Which of course is counter-intuitive to running a profitable business with healthy sales!
It took me a long time to get comfortable with sales. With not feeling I was ‘bothering’ people by telling them how I could help them. With not feeling that I was spamming people if I emailed them more than once about an offer.
But now I know differently. I understand how sales work and am comfortable with them. I’m also clear that I am running a business. And that as much as it’s important to have a mission beyond just ‘making money’, a business without sales won’t last.
So I now sell with confidence. And if someone doesn’t want to see my emails they can either not open them or unsubscribe from my list. It doesn’t mean they don’t like me. It’s just that what I am selling is not for them, and that is fine.
When you sell ethically, with well-planned activities (and ensure you always offer value) then your real customers and clients will be happy to engage with you. They WANT to see your bananas. So start showing them off and selling them!
These three steps make us an extra £60,000 a year – while taking up less time
These three steps alone now make Talented Ladies Club well over £60,000 a year more, while taking up LESS of my time.
So while it might be scary to stop doing things you’ve thought were important, this is exactly why I encourage you to do it without hesitation.
Simplifying your business and seeing your efficiency and profits soar can be a big shift and it’s easier to do with support and guidance.
That’s exactly why I’ve put together the Shortcut Summit for you
Over three days we’ve got 16 speakers on the free Shortcut Summit, all helping you take things you’re already doing in your business and make them work better for you. That means bigger profits in your pocket at the end of the month.
Some amazing presentations related to what we’ve talked about today include things like:
- How to build a brilliant sales funnel for your business or freelance work in 28 minutes
- How to turn your expertise into an easily sellable online course in 28 minutes
- Why you don’t like selling: How to feel more confident and less salesy
- How to end the tyranny of the urgent – and be more productive and happy
- How to do your accounts in just 15 minutes a week
And there are so many more amazing presentations relating to finding clients and customers, raising your prices, and working smartly with confidence.
Click here to get all the details and get your FREE ticket. I can’t wait to see you there!
Photo by Rosie Parsons
