If you’re feeling stuck in your business, you’re not alone.
You’ve built a business with great turnover and there’s no doubt you’re successful. So why doesn’t it feel like it? Despite everything you try, you just can’t seem to break through to that next level – when things will get easier and you can enjoy the lifestyle and business you dream about.
At best you’re frustrated. At worst you’re feeling claustrophobic and worried the façade of success will all come tumbling down around you. Sound familiar?
If it does, it’s important to know that there are many others feeling the exact same way, and it’s not your fault. Most of us have never been shown how to map our own version of success, let alone be given the tools to achieve it.
But don’t give up. You can regain your business momentum and push through that success plateau.
We’ve pulled together the three things holding you back in business and how you can change them.
You still run your business based on your gut… Use your data to make better decisions.
Let’s face it, making gut decisions may have served you well in building your business. But things change and the methods you used to get you here may no longer be working for you. You used to be able to “touch” everything going on in your business but now you have employees along with many more things to juggle.
Ultimately, when you make decisions on the fly, you’re really flying blind. That’s the thing keeping you up at night – you don’t really know what’s happening in your business. With today’s business technology, there’s really no excuse. True insights into your business performance – your business data – is right at your fingertips. In an instant you can access all the information you need to make smarter business decisions.
Just like Rod and Mel. Rod and Mel had been running their business for four years. They ran two main product lines – clothing and footwear – and business was steady. But turnover was roughly the same year-on-year and it felt like they had reached a standstill. Rod and Mel were growing frustrated that they couldn’t break through to the next level of success. Looking to shake things up, they felt like it might be time to focus on just one line. With footwear being a constant hassle in terms of time and energy, their gut instinct was to cut it loose and double down on clothing.
When Rod and Mel came to see us, they were all set to pull the pin on footwear. On the brink of such a big decision, we suggested they consult their data. Logging into their software to check their numbers, what Rod and Mel found was a surprise. They quickly discovered that while clothing was generating more revenue, footwear delivered much higher profits. Rod and Mel realised that if they instead focused on footwear, they would have room for growth and a more profitable business.
After seeing the data in black and white, Rod and Mel hired in someone else to focus on the footwear, have increased these sales four-fold and increased their monthly profit by 20%.
Rod and Mel’s story shows just how important it is to make data-driven decisions. Making a decision based on their gut would have seen them kill their profit. Using the data they had right at their fingertips, they were able to avoid making a costly business decision.
Setting up your business software is simple, and it will provide all the real-time data you need to make smarter business decisions.
You don’t know what real success looks like… Work out how to have your cake and eat it too.
When you first started in business, you seized every opportunity that came your way. It took a lot of commitment, time and effort to create the business you have today but now you feel like you’re working harder and harder for less return. You keep thinking (and promising your loved ones) that work-life balance and more money is just around the corner, but it feels like it’s nowhere in sight.
The truth is you probably don’t actually know what success looks like, or at least you’ve never really taken the time to define what it truly means to you.
Take Jack. Jack is a hard-working tradie who loves being on the tools. Over 10 years, Jack built a successful business that had grown to include 15 staff with clients across NSW. It was making good money and building a great reputation. But with every new opportunity, Jack was moving away from the tools, feeling more and more stressed, and his health and family life were suffering.
Jack had built his business on saying ‘yes’, taking on every job that came his way to generate as much revenue as possible. That approach worked well for a time. The problem was, the more he said yes, the more he had to deliver. The more employees he needed, the more responsibility he carried. Jack was spending less time on the tools and more late nights in front of the computer trying to make it all work. Every waking moment, he was thinking about work and was literally worrying himself sick. And with no work-life balance to speak of, he was missing precious time with this young family. Despite having a seemingly successful business, it was no longer making him happy.
At our quarterly meeting with Jack, his stress was obvious. We asked him how the business was performing. Then we asked how it was performing for him. This simple question forced Jack to focus in on what really matters. Together we sat down to map out exactly what that looked like. He realised that, for him, a successful business wasn’t a big business. It was one where he could be on the tools, with enough cashflow and earnings to enjoy his business and spend more time with his family.
Together we ran the numbers, looking beyond just the revenue. Jack saw that one of his teams was far more profitable than the other. Keeping them both running was increasing his overall revenue but not making more profit. With this insight, Jack knew he could reduce the business to a single high performing team with him back working on the frontline. With this ‘success matrix’ in place, within a few months, Jack had hired a manager to work on the day-to-day business management, and cashflow and his pay cheque has never looked better. Most importantly, he’s enjoying being on the tools and doing more things he loves at work and at home.
Jack’s story is the perfect example of why it’s crucial to take the time to define what success really means for you. By defining your own version of success, following the profit and honouring life balance, you actually can have your cake and eat it too.
You make decisions about growth on the fly… Press pause and consider opportunities carefully.
You’ve probably found that when your business is going well, opportunities come along a lot more frequently and it’s not always easy to identify the right ones. You’ve no doubt also worked out that not every big deal or contract means big returns. You may have jumped at an opportunity to generate exponentially more business only to find that you don’t feel any better off than you did before. In fact, you’re probably carrying more risk and feeling more stressed as a result.
The truth is, it’s easy to get swept up in the moment when big jobs with big numbers are presented to you. After all, you’ve worked hard to get to this point and you’re just hanging out for the right opportunity to take your business to the next level. But the truth is, not all opportunities are created equal and if you want to really push through that success plateau and reach the next level, you need to take your time when weighing things up.
Our clients Dave and Rob have been there before. These hardworking brothers operate a signwriting business that had a healthy turnover and was taking care of them and their young families. While they were relatively happy with the way things were operating, they were always on the lookout for ways to grow. When they were offered a new contract that had the potential to significantly increase their income, they were ecstatic and headed straight to our office to see about making it happen.
Excited for them both, we sat down to look over the numbers and work out the opportunity cost and what it would mean in terms of their business success matrix before they signed on the dotted line. While chatting through the logistics of the deal, Dave and Rob identified that they would need to travel and work away from home, which would cost them time with their families.
We crunched the numbers to see if the profit margins were worth getting the deal across the line. Dave and Rob discovered that the extra costs involved in managing remote contracts and the travel required meant the profit on the contract was quite low. So, with the returns not enough to justify time away from their kids, the duo decided to pass on that particular deal and leave themselves open to a better opportunity. And that’s exactly what came along next. Dave and Rob picked up a contract closer to home where the profit margins are significantly higher, and they are now spending even more time with their families.
By hitting pause to stop and consider every opportunity thoroughly against your data, meaningful metrics and your own definition of success, you can seize opportunities that deliver on both profit and lifestyle and grow the business of your dreams.
You can regain your business momentum and push through to the next level of success.
The fact is, you don’t have to feel stuck in your business. It is possible to once again enjoy the business you’ve worked so hard to build.
By defining success, using your data and hitting the pause button long enough to really evaluate the opportunities in front of you, you can have the business of your dreams.
We’ve created a simple framework to evaluate where your business is currently and uncover the strategies you need to slingshot your way beyond your current plateau and on to real success.
To learn more about how to regain your business momentum, it’s as simple as clicking here. And if you think this article could help someone you know, please share it.