4 Keys to Building a Profitable & Leveraged Business for Self-Employed Professionals

Cooking a great meal and running a profitable restaurant are two significantly different things.  I've built autopilot service businesses that can run without me, and I've learned that being a service provider and a business builder require very different sets of skills. 

In this blog, I will share with you some principles that I've used to leverage my business.  You may be a coach, a consultant, a lawyer, a financial advisor, a network marketer... or own any other self-employed businesses.  This blog is for you. 

Many businesses do not last more than 5-10 years, because its founder gets burnt out or runs out of cash.  Through this sharing, I hope that your business continues to grow and that you will feel the fulfilment of being both a great service provider and a successful entrepreneur. 

• Learn to separate your roles.  If you want a successful business, know that business has 4 parts: Marketing, Operations, Finance, and HR.  Delivering your service is only the Operations part of it.  If you do not have the skills or the will to understand how to do the other 3 parts, then business growth will be challenging.  If you do not see yourself as a Marketer or if you're uncomfortable selling your services, you have no one to deliver it to.  If you don't want to learn about finance and how your decisions affect the bottom line, there may be loopholes in your business that are costing you profit.  If you do not know how to build an organisational structure and attract a good team, then your time may not be leveraged and you will find yourself doing things that can be better done by others.  I'm assuming you're already a great "chef"... you already know how to deliver your service well.  Perhaps now it's time to expand your view of business and deepen your understanding on the other 3 parts.  

• Know your numbers.  People think that being self-employed is relatively cheap.  You work from home or a co-working space, keep your expenses low, and then you get a lot of profits when you get your clients.  But before you know it, you're paying a digital marketing expert to do some kind of marketing.  Then you choose a co-working space in the middle of town with higher rent.  And because your marketing is not yet churning clients, you're spending spending spending but not really earning anything.  I'm not saying that's wrong, but it would be safer for your business if you knew your break-even point and how to set a revenue target that could meet your profit goals.  For some of you, it's good to establish some kind of profit goal.  Many people resist goal-setting because it's a commitment, or because they're afraid that they'll lose their purpose if they focus on profit.  I'm coming from a business point of view, and usually the lack of goal setting is the reason for the lack of goal achievement.  Clarity and accountability are not bad things to have when you build a business.  I suggest you get clear on your key numbers before you start.  

• Set up a product ladder that gets you 100% conversion.  I've coached business coaches to build their business and it's been interesting to see how slim their product lines are.  Many of them only have high-value items and wonder why their conversion rate is quite poor.  High-value items require high commitment in terms of money, time, and trust.  These 3 don't come quickly at times.  They do need to be built.  But if you set up your product ladder with low commitment offers, even free offers, you may find that people are more keen to try them first.  This is how you get closer to 100% conversion rate in your offers.  People need to know, like, and trust you before they buy.  What are you doing to help them do that?  If you're a member of this Chamber, you should be writing weekly blogs and posting them to build up your reputation.  There are, of course, other ways, but I'm just selecting the obvious.  

• Select marketing strategies that suits you and your target market.  Yes, everyone seems to be doing digital marketing, but it doesn't mean it's the only thing you should bank on.  Marketing is like a spectrum.  On one end of the spectrum, you have low conversion rate strategies.  These are things that you do behind a laptop, such as social media or some types of digital marketing.  You don't see the prospect; you can't shake his/her hand... you're just behind a computer clicking on buttons. Conversion rates on this side is usually less than 1%.  Some of you have spent money on those things with very minimal results and wonder why.  But the best digital marketing consultants will tell you that clicking buttons and choosing key words are not the only things you should do.  You should engage!  Yes, ok, so let's talk about the other end of the spectrum.  This is the part where you can see and speak to the prospect; you can shake their hand.  Perhaps you've even been referred by a previous client.  Conversion rates closer to the prospect usually range between 50-70%.  I like to teach this marketing spectrum to make people realise where they have been focusing their marketing budget on.  And if you are not yet satisfied with the results you're getting on your marketing, reflect on this point.  List down your strategies and look at how close they are to the prospect.  Recently I spoke to a career coach who wanted to improve her business.  She wanted to hire someone to do social media.  She has been coaching for 3 years and has a good base for referrals, so I asked her, "Which will give you higher conversion rate, social media or a sharper referral strategy?" She told me her conversion rate for referrals is 100%. Wow! Only then did she realise that she may not need to spend more money on social media, but she may want to spend more time sharpening her referral strategies. I think she made the right decision!  

I can only share with you so much in a blog, but if you'd like to talk more about how you can build your business, I always welcome a chat.  I am happy to see more and more people opening their own businesses and becoming entrepreneurs.  I hope this blog can help you advance your business, leverage your time, and build the life you desire.