What Women Entrepreneurs Do to Keep Themselves from the Big Revenue, Part One
Women entrepreneurs tell me all the time that they are working hard and not making money. It breaks my heart to hear that and I want it to stop. Over the next four weeks, I will share with you several things that could be interfering with growing your revenue. Here are the first few to assess in your business:
Not Considering the Time versus Dollar Equation
Sometimes a project comes your way and it seems like a lot of money for what you will be delivering, like what you might receive to give an hour speech or provide some short–term consulting. However, you have to consider all the time involved in making that client happy: travel time, preparation time, research time and of course all the costs involved in the delivery of your product or service. Often, women entrepreneurs do not ask all the questions to figure these things out before quoting a fee. They end up taking a lot more time than anticipated to complete the work well and therefore don’t make a lot of money. Do not let this happen to you. Take time to evaluate each opportunity and client to make sure it will be a profitable endeavor.
Doing Everything Yourself
Let me be very clear, your time is best spent serving your clients, connecting with your potential clients, doing business planning and developing your product or service. Everything else is not the highest and best use of your time. When you are doing things that others can be doing, you do not have enough time for selling, for serving your clients and for paying attention to your business growth.
If you are not a webmaster, do not be building or maintaining your website. If you are not a sound engineer, do not be splicing audio snippets. Regardless of what business you are in, do not be doing your own administration. All of this takes away from your revenue-producing activities and puts off new revenue. If you do not believe me, let me tell you, I see it happen all the time with my new clients. The more help they have, the more their revenue grows.
Playing in Safe
If you wanted to play it safe you would not have started your own business. Innovation, risk-taking, creativity and fresh ideas are the words that describe women entrepreneurs like you. Always be looking for the next big thing in your business and always be testing it. This keeps your enthusiasm and excitement high, which attracts clients. Plus, this keeps the buzz high about you and your firm in the marketplace and that keeps new clients coming.
These are three important ideas to review in your own business to make sure you are maximizing your revenue. Now, take a moment for reflection and ask yourself: do you know your time versus dollar equation? Are you doing things that someone else could be doing? Are you playing it too safe? If so, get busy, make some changes and watch your revenue soar.
Check back next week for more ways to stop shooting yourself in the wallet and we will grow your revenue even more.
Caterina Rando, MA, MCC, shows women entrepreneurs how to be loud and proud about the value they bring in order to massively monetize their mastery. Join her and other ambitious, positive and passionate women entrepreneurs as you discover how to catapult your revenue and take your business to the next level at her upcoming, two-day, live and in-person Business Breakthrough Summit. Visit www.bizbreakthrough.com for more info, use code TIW127 for a deep discount. Caterina can also be reached at cat@caterinarando.com and by phone at 415.668.4535.