When you need to grow your business, what do you do? Do you lock out the rest of the world and brainstorm new products, programs, or service ideas yourself, like so many entrepreneurs do? Big mistake!
When you try to expand your business this way, you’re cutting out 100% of one of your most crucial assets: your existing customers and clients. In this bonus episode, my guest and CEO Collective member Layne Lyons tells us about how she’s on track to double her business by getting actual input from those already familiar with her business.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
5:17 - Layne describes her business before it underwent an amazing transformation and reveals her first business bottleneck.
9:39 - What did Layne do to resolve her first bottleneck? What was her experience like after she started putting some boundaries in place?
13:12 - Layne shares what it felt like to finally increase her price points and offers advice to those on the precipice of doing the same.
15:53 - A new offer has opened the door for Layne to double the revenue from her business. She reveals what it is and the journey she went on to get here.
21:31 - What happened when Layne launched her new offer? This demonstrates why asking your existing client base for new ideas is the easiest way to build your next offer.
25:21 - Layne describes how she and her business are different now thanks to the changes she’s implemented.
34:21 - How was Layne’s experience joining The CEO Collective? She offers an inside look.
37:09 - To wrap up, I highlight a few points Layne made about streamlining and simplifying her business to the point where she now works less and enjoys her life more.
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You have money buried in your business somewhere. It doesn’t require you to gain more followers, run more ads, or hustle further to get your hands on it, either. It just involves taking advantage of the lowest hanging fruit in your business.
In the last episode of this series on putting an end to hustle culture, burnout, and entrepreneurial poverty, I reveal the third and final strategy to sustainably grow your business. I can’t wait for you to unlock this one!
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
4:13 - I share a quick story and reveal the final secret to sustainable growth for your business.
7:50 - I expose the huge problem not being discussed in the business world right now. What could be the culprit?
9:35 - You need to nail these things to form the foundation for finding hidden money in your business. I see too many people ignore the last one.
14:24 - What simple offers can you provide your clients behind-the-scenes? I reveal one way to ensure your 1-on-1 clients fit perfectly for you.
18:47 - If you have past clients, what should you do next? Here are some other ways to discover hidden income opportunities.
22:52 - I sum up all of the main strategies I’ve highlighted in this episode series.
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You’re doing everything right. You’re offering a ton of content to get people in the door. But no matter what you do in your business, you only get a sale here or there. You’re just not seeing the results you want. So how can you make more sales?
My guest today, CEO Collective founding member Leesa Klich, is a health writer and blogging expert who helps health and wellness professionals use engaging research-based content to build their practices. In this bonus episode, she reveals the strategic tweaks she made in the foundation of her business that took her from struggling to sell a thing to selling out her offers and generating her best revenue month ever.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
9:01 - Leesa shares the vision she had for herself that prompted the restructuring of her business model.
12:26 - How did Leesa transition from serving one person at a time to multiple people simultaneously while also raising her prices?
20:11 - Leesa reveals what she has and hasn’t done to market herself and her business. Introverts especially will want to pay attention to this!
24:43 - You can get stuck in this quagmire as an entrepreneur. What does it take to be the most successful possible in your marketing efforts?
28:03 - Leesa created an even bigger offer to sell. She discusses the process of how she came up with and then refined her idea for a white label course.
30:24 - How did Leesa feel about increasing her price point again with the introduction of her course? I had to really work with her to get her pricing mindset right on this.
33:32 - Leesa discusses her audience’s response upon launching the course and what increased her confidence in raising her price.
38:15 - What’s next for Leesa? She tells us where she’s most excited to put her focus for now and advice for anyone considering joining The CEO Collective.
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What do you think you need to gain in order for your business to change and grow? Too often entrepreneurs get hyped up to chase vanity metrics like huge numbers of Instagram followers or email subscribers. Ultimately though, gaining five or 10 new clients is all you need to have a massive impact on your business.
The simplest, easiest way for getting those clients isn’t something sexy or glamorous. It involves using a real strategy to invite people in, actually connect with them, and let them know how you can help. Continuing on with this series to avoid hustle and burnout, today I talk about the second strategy you need to adopt to grow a truly sustainable business.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
3:27 - I rant (again) about an issue in the business world that sets so many people up for failure.
5:18 - What is a predictable profit plan? It’s key to how I help entrepreneurs break out of the feast or famine cycle, so I walk you through how to put one together.
10:00 - I reveal the most important but least discussed part of a profit plan. If you don’t have this, it’ll break your business.
10:45 - People get so focused on marketing and sales that they forget about this piece of the puzzle and end up with a lot of unhappy clients.
15:00 - What will be your strategies for marketing, sales, and delivery? I use The CEO Collective as an example.
17:13 - Consider this if you have no idea when you should promote your signature offer. I give more examples from my business.
20:14 - Full upfront payment is awesome! But you’ll love extending payment plans to clients for this incredibly powerful reason.
25:04 - How can you ensure that you don’t experience a revenue gap?
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Undercharging and over-delivering can be a challenging habit to break. You have to come to terms with the idea of increasing your prices and overhauling your packaging structure.
If you’re like my guest today and feel nervous about raising your prices, then listen up because I have a real-life case study for you! I interview CEO Collective member Sarah Young about her journey over the last 18 months where she increased her price points, decreased burnout, positioned herself differently than other bookkeepers and CPAs, and now enjoys her business more than ever.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
6:15 - What did Sarah’s business look like before she joined The CEO Collective? She reveals what prompted her to get into business for herself.
10:11 - Sarah feels like her pricing story is a little embarrassing, but she tells it anyway. Everybody has the same struggles, especially women.
14:27 - After some research, Sarah started raising her prices but still found herself burning out. Then something happened in January 2021 that changed her business.
21:28 - What did existing clients think after Sarah raised her price points? She discusses repackaging herself for higher-paying clients and framing a response to those who could no longer afford her.
27:13 - Sarah reveals something she had to come to terms with as she rebuilt her business from the ground up.
28:48 - Where did Sarah find higher-level clients willing to invest at her prices? If you think it’s super complicated, think again.
32:08 - Sarah shares what she sees happening financially with fast-growing businesses when they underprice themselves.
36:09 - How do you build in profitability in your pricing, especially as you hire and grow a team? Sarah offers her insight.
42:47 - Sarah shares what’s been the best part of being a member of The CEO Collective.
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We women entrepreneurs keep underpricing ourselves when offering the same service or product as our male counterparts. On average, we price up to 20% less. When I first heard that, I was blown away!
Pricing is one of the quickest and most powerful ways to adjust your business trajectory and make it more sustainable. I’ve seen it in my business and those of my clients. So in this episode, I discuss why properly pricing your offers is the first step to designing a successfully sustainable business.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
3:36 - What is the feast or famine zone, and does your business fall into it? Discover the two biggest reasons why businesses in this zone struggle to compete.
8:40 - I demonstrate how underpricing can easily lead to overworking by using the example of a wedding photographer.
12:18 - Taking the wedding photographer example further, this simple step is an easy way to improve your profitability and ease burnout.
14:42 - What if you want to double your rates? You need to take a deeper look at these factors in your business.
17:42 - Pricing impacts other aspects of your business. Michalowicz’s Profit First percentages can help you figure out the math to meet your revenue goal.
20:43 - I push back against the hype of online gurus who have a certain mindset about pricing. There’s a reason why I primarily work with service providers.
23:50 - What if you’re not used to selling at a higher price or booking multiple sessions at a time per client?
26:55 - Here’s why you don’t need a large audience to get enough clients for your higher-priced programs and services. I give you a behind-the-scenes look.
28:52 - Keep these questions in mind as you crunch your numbers.
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Celebrity entrepreneurs don’t do any favors with all their hustle talk, and despite everything you hear about escaping burnout and hustle culture, too many women entrepreneurs still can’t escape. They desperately need the cash flow in their business right now. So if you’re struggling to get your business working on all cylinders, keep listening. Today’s episode kicks off a new series to help you break free from entrepreneurial poverty of time, energy, and money so you can attain the sustainable success you desire.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
3:06 - People prescribe this antidote too often to the burnout problem. It’s creating a FOMO culture for an increasing number of women.
4:55 - I discuss the entrepreneurial poverty of time and what it looks like for women business owners.
9:42 - Energy poverty is HUGE right now. How does this impact you as a female entrepreneur?
13:07 - While lack of money is easy to point to, it doesn’t just have an effect on you financially.
14:16 - I see so many women in the middle stage of their business succumb to this cycle. Why do some stay stuck in it for years?
17:17 - I quickly overview what’s coming up next in this new podcast series of episodes.
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