Double Your Revenue in One Year

Sounds absolutely crazy, right? 5 businesses in the last 2 years I have worked with have done it…so, why can’t you! If you want to know how they did it, read on for the 5 steps.

Assess:
Where are you getting the most bang for your buck?
Sounds easy, but this is probably the 2nd hardest step. This is where you have to detach yourself from the passion of your business. You must look objectively at your business. We often become attached to certain stories regarding our business that may not necessarily be true today. Economic factors, cyclic trends, and the past can tend to color our glasses.

Take Sharon for example; although she had grown her Medical Billing Business from 30K a year to 150K within a 2 year period, she wasn’t sure she could do it again. The numbers felt big and overwhelming. Doubling her business to 300K felt like it was too much. Sharon was not looking objectively at her business; she was letting fear get in the way of her success. She had already tripled her business volume and proved it could be done. When she took an objective look at her business, she realized she had all she needed to grow to 300K and keep going. She made it and has since sold her business-2 years earlier than she had planned.

Analyze:
Most of your business comes from one or two areas and you need to know what those areas are. Look at your top selling product or service. What is most profitable? You may be surprised that what you are selling most is not your most profitable product or service. Or most of the resources (time, people and money) are currently invested in areas that are not as profitable or in demand.


Leverage:
Now that you have identified what you really want to be selling. You must find a way to leverage it? Put the non-producing areas that take up your time on-hold for a while and place all (or most) of your focus and energy into leveraging what is working. How can you sell more of this product or service that is your most profitable asset? Exploit what is best and maximize the potential.

Plan:
You MUST have a plan. Too many people keep it in their heads, constantly thinking about the next move or what they should do. I am here to say that this practice rarely reaps success. If you are going to double your business, you must have a well-thought out plan on paper. It could be scribbled on a crumpled up piece of paper for all I care, just get it down in writing. What actions do you need to take to sell more of your most profitable product/service? I want you to think of two factors here: immediate return and long term investment. Look at each day and ask yourself, what action can I take that can produce immediate results, and what seeds must I plant that I will need to water and cultivate to bring great success? Plan to do both everyday.

Act:
Sounds easy, right? But, unfortunately, “stuff” can get in the way. Phone calls, e-mails, and personnel issues can put big hairy obstacles in the way of our most well planned intentions. This is where you must stay strong and don’t get distracted. Carve out time each day, prioritize, and maybe put in an extra hour a day to get it all done. If you want to double your revenue, let’s not pretend you can do this easily while playing golf. You are going to have to dedicate and commit yourself to stay on-track. This is where a credentialed coach, mentor or even friend that will hope for lots of presents when you are rolling in the money, can come in to help you. This is the hardest part. You need to create a new work habit of not becoming distracted, staying focused, and working your plan.

So, these are the 5 basic steps to doubling your revenue. Once you commit yourself to these habits, and work your plan, you will see results…maybe even better than you expect.