I remember the first time I was paid $5,000 to speak.
What’s memorable is that a professional development opportunity that cost $5,000 had just appeared in my life and it seemed like fate that I was about to be paid that exact sum.
I don’t even remember what the opportunity was but at the time I wanted it.
I think the ability to pay $5,000 was just as exhilarating as being paid $5,000.
It wasn’t overnight, but I eventually learned that this is not a savvy way to run a business.
I was acting as if 100% of what I earned was available for expenses.
At the same time, I had no idea when I could start paying myself – since I was basically putting all the money back into my business as I was getting it going.
Not a sustainable business model, but I’m guessing I’m not alone in doing this.
Now, when I get paid, I put only 30% aside for expenses, 20% for taxes, 20% for my paycheck, and 30% for profit.
This is based on a model developed by Mike Michalowicz and discussed in his book “Profit First.”
As soon as I heard about this model it clicked for me.
Instead of the formula being revenue – expenses = profit, it became revenue – profit = expenses.
That’s how paychecks work – taxes and retirement get taken out first and then the rest is in the paycheck.
It just isn’t how most entrepreneurs approach their business.
This one book caused a major shift in the way I ran my business and I realized that I could implement this in other ways.
This week is the first time I’m taking more than one day off in a row since the pandemic began.
I only have two calls scheduled with my coaching clients and no other meetings – except my #NoMoreBadZoom Virtual Happy Hour which brings me too much joy to miss.
Just like with Profit First, I am realizing I will only get time off if I block it on my calendar before sharing my availability with my clients.
With that in mind, I’ve now got two more vacation weeks already booked for August and December.
Your Challenge For This Week
In some ways, this is a really simple lesson – I didn’t earn a profit until I took the profit first, I need to put vacation time on my calendar before booking clients.
Putting this into action can be very challenging if your sense of work/life balance has gotten incredibly blurred over the last year.
First, assess your starting point – are you working weekends? Find yourself at your computer again after dinner? Haven’t taken two days off in a row in ages?
Second, set your long-term goal – stop working weekends, only work two nights a week, take off every Friday (my mentor and coach Dorie Clark wrote about how she made this happen!).
Third, what can you do RIGHT NOW that will move you towards that audacious goal? Start reclaiming your time and putting up boundaries.
Lastly, what are you most looking forward to doing with all this newfound time? Knowing the answer will help you create and follow through on a plan to make it happen.
Try this and let me know how it goes!
Business Growth Strategist & Business Coach
As a relationship-based business growth strategist, I work directly with a limited number of self-employed professionals, aka solopreneurs.
WHO YOU ARE:
You want to have a greater impact and increased income. The problem is that there are so many options for how to build your business that you can feel stuck, overwhelmed, and like you’re running out of time.
The reason options are overwhelming is that you’re looking at them as a series of disconnected steps, when to make the most of your time, you need a strategy that connects only the most important and highest impact ones.
You know that if you try to do everything, you’ll accomplish nothing. This means, to achieve your goal, you have to invest in a strategy to put time on your side.
What’s Included:
As a relationship-based business growth strategist, I will work with you to design a year-long plan that consists of three 12-week sprints, each followed by 4 weeks of reflection/assessment, rejuvenation/vacation, and strategic planning. This will allow you to sequence your goals, create momentum, and leverage your limited time.
We can build your plan through a half-day strategy session, a coaching engagement, or a mastermind program.
These are not right for everyone; they’re personalized offerings and are priced accordingly.
What might you work on?
In my coaching work with entrepreneurs and solopreneurs, we focus on the areas where you’d like to grow, which may include:
- Creating a strong sales conversation framework
- Building your referral network
- Lead generation through a relationships
- Growing your visibility in your industry
- Increasing your ability to attract the right kind of clients
- Identifying and launching a minimally viable offer
- Breaking through whatever bottleneck is holding you back from getting the results you want and deserve
- Becoming a published author and marketing your book successfully
- Improving your virtual presentation skills
Learn more about the different ways we can work together – deep dive 3-hour session, private 1:1 coaching, and masterminds. I’m excited to support you in reaching or exceeding your goals.
Stay Connected:
- Connect with me on LinkedIn to see the content I share.
- New to my website? Start here
- Listen to my On the Schmooze podcast – weekly since July 2016.
