6 Common Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make Trying to Grow Their Bottom Line
6 Common Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make Trying to Grow Their Bottom Line
That’s because people often approach their financial growth with the wrong strategies. You may have heard the saying, “The strategy you used to create your million is drastically different than the strategy to maintain it.” It’s the same thing here. The strategy you used to get started is drastically different than the one you need to grow consistent six and seven figure revenue.
Here are six of the common mistakes entrepreneurs make when trying to grow their bottom line.
Mistake #1: Setting unrealistic expectations. I conducted a workshop where one of the students shared she planned to create $500,000 in new revenue in the next 12 months. She was barely making $50,000 and was launching a brand new business. This plan seemed unrealistic to me. Unrealistic expectations are different than setting ‘stretch goals.’ When you are unrealistic, you will often over spend and under perform because you believe you have everything on track for a huge leap in income.
Mistake #2: Focusing on price versus payoff. This being so focused on what everything will cost you that you miss the opportunities that will allow you to leap forward. The saying, “It costs money to make money” means that when you invest in high payoff opportunities, you will leap forward. Many people who are stuck financially don’t have the financial resources to invest in the tactics that would actually position them for a huge windfall.
Mistake #3: Making short-term decisions that sabotage the long term goal. I once knew someone who would say yes to any opportunity that crossed his desk if it meant he might make a couple thousand dollars. The problem was that most of these opportunities took a lot of his personal time, time he wasn’t spending on his own goals. This man couldn’t understand why his own programs weren’t profitable – when he spent up to 50% of his time on short term opportunities at the expense of his long term, more profitable projects.
Mistake #4: Trying to keep up with the “Jones.” Just because your competitor is experiencing huge financial wins with their strategies doesn’t mean it will work for you. It’s dangerous to just watch what others do and try to replicate it without understanding the entire strategy. A carefully crafted growth strategy will have many steps – you can probably see only one part of it. This mistake can be very costly because you invest your time and money “following the Jones” strategy only to experience a flop because you invested in only one piece of the whole puzzle.
Mistake #5: Doing everything themselves. I can’t tell you how many entrepreneurs find themselves in a growth trap because they won’t build a team. If it is just you, then you can only accomplish what you have time to accomplish. When you build a team, you can leverage your time exponentially. Think of it as a way to finally clone yourself. Delegating and outsourcing is one of the fastest ways to grow your results and your bottom line.
Mistake #6: Sacrificing quality for revenue growth. This is absolutely one of my big pet peeves. And I know it’s the opposite of what many gurus teach. But here is the deal. If you are so focused on growing your bottom line that you sacrifice the quality or experience of a client along the way, you will impact your future revenue opportunities. Unhappy clients don’t come back. And usually they tell A LOT OF PEOPLE along the way.
If you are making one of these mistakes, what should you do? Here are three quick fixes to get you back on the fast track to bottom line bliss.
1. Know your high payoff opportunities. Typically they are based on your values, priorities and goals. If you need help with this step, check out the Unstoppable Goals Method.
2. Slow down and evaluate the real profit story. Just because it looks good doesn’t mean its profitable and a good use of your time. Create a cost analysis for your opportunities. Look at things like: when will it make me money, how much money and time will it take, what are my “hidden” costs, etc.
3. Respond, don’t react. Opportunities will always come at you. If you have a strategic plan mapped out, you will be able to take action on the right ones. Without a plan, you are just reacting to “Bright Shiny Objects™.” Successful people create and follow a strategic plan.
About the Coach:
Melanie Benson Strick, The Entrepreneur’s Success Coach, teaches entrepreneurs how to stop feeling overwhelmed so they can create more money, more freedom and more prestige.
If you’re ready to stop working in your business and start working on your business, go to www.virtualteambuildingsecrets.com to learn the secret to growing your company to a six and seven-figure success without employees or a 90-hour work week!
6 Common Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make Trying to Grow Their Bottom Line - To learn more about this author, visit Melanie Benson Strick's Website.
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Have you ever felt like you were running a rat race? Everything seems like it takes forever, costs 10 times as much as you expected and you still feel like you are a million miles away from achieving your financial goals?
That’s because people often approach their financial growth with the wrong strategies. You may have heard the saying, “The strategy you used to create your million is drastically different than the strategy to maintain it.” It’s the same thing here. The strategy you used to get started is drastically different than the one you need to grow consistent six and seven figure revenue.
Here are six of the common mistakes entrepreneurs make when trying to grow their bottom line.
Mistake #1: Setting unrealistic expectations. I conducted a workshop where one of the students shared she planned to create $500,000 in new revenue in the next 12 months. She was barely making $50,000 and was launching a brand new business. This plan seemed unrealistic to me. Unrealistic expectations are different than setting ‘stretch goals.’ When you are unrealistic, you will often over spend and under perform because you believe you have everything on track for a huge leap in income.
Mistake #2: Focusing on price versus payoff. This being so focused on what everything will cost you that you miss the opportunities that will allow you to leap forward. The saying, “It costs money to make money” means that when you invest in high payoff opportunities, you will leap forward. Many people who are stuck financially don’t have the financial resources to invest in the tactics that would actually position them for a huge windfall.
Mistake #3: Making short-term decisions that sabotage the long term goal. I once knew someone who would say yes to any opportunity that crossed his desk if it meant he might make a couple thousand dollars. The problem was that most of these opportunities took a lot of his personal time, time he wasn’t spending on his own goals. This man couldn’t understand why his own programs weren’t profitable – when he spent up to 50% of his time on short term opportunities at the expense of his long term, more profitable projects.
Mistake #4: Trying to keep up with the “Jones.” Just because your competitor is experiencing huge financial wins with their strategies doesn’t mean it will work for you. It’s dangerous to just watch what others do and try to replicate it without understanding the entire strategy. A carefully crafted growth strategy will have many steps – you can probably see only one part of it. This mistake can be very costly because you invest your time and money “following the Jones” strategy only to experience a flop because you invested in only one piece of the whole puzzle.
Mistake #5: Doing everything themselves. I can’t tell you how many entrepreneurs find themselves in a growth trap because they won’t build a team. If it is just you, then you can only accomplish what you have time to accomplish. When you build a team, you can leverage your time exponentially. Think of it as a way to finally clone yourself. Delegating and outsourcing is one of the fastest ways to grow your results and your bottom line.
Mistake #6: Sacrificing quality for revenue growth. This is absolutely one of my big pet peeves. And I know it’s the opposite of what many gurus teach. But here is the deal. If you are so focused on growing your bottom line that you sacrifice the quality or experience of a client along the way, you will impact your future revenue opportunities. Unhappy clients don’t come back. And usually they tell A LOT OF PEOPLE along the way.
If you are making one of these mistakes, what should you do? Here are three quick fixes to get you back on the fast track to bottom line bliss.
1. Know your high payoff opportunities. Typically they are based on your values, priorities and goals. If you need help with this step, check out the Unstoppable Goals Method.
2. Slow down and evaluate the real profit story. Just because it looks good doesn’t mean its profitable and a good use of your time. Create a cost analysis for your opportunities. Look at things like: when will it make me money, how much money and time will it take, what are my “hidden” costs, etc.
3. Respond, don’t react. Opportunities will always come at you. If you have a strategic plan mapped out, you will be able to take action on the right ones. Without a plan, you are just reacting to “Bright Shiny Objects™.” Successful people create and follow a strategic plan.
About the Coach:
Melanie Benson Strick, The Entrepreneur’s Success Coach, teaches entrepreneurs how to stop feeling overwhelmed so they can create more money, more freedom and more prestige.
If you’re ready to stop working in your business and start working on your business, go to www.virtualteambuildingsecrets.com to learn the secret to growing your company to a six and seven-figure success without employees or a 90-hour work week!
6 Common Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make Trying to Grow Their Bottom Line - To learn more about this author, visit Melanie Benson Strick's Website.
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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