Decoding the Profit Puzzle

Have you ever felt you need to make more progress with your consulting or coaching business? Are you tired of hit-or-miss profits and feeling like you're never getting ahead?

Well, it's time to say enough already and go from surviving to thriving!

Today, we decode the profit puzzle and dive into the different levels of success you can achieve with your consulting or coaching business: stable profits, sustainable growth, and scalable success.

Before we dive into the nitty-gritty details of each level of success, let's first explore what sets them apart.

Picture this: a consulting or coaching business set up for stable profits. You're making a solid income without worrying about your next lead. How great does that sound?

Sustainable success is all about having a business making a great income, living your purpose, and having complete confidence that this career path will generate your income for years to come.

And finally, scalable growth is where the magic happens – it's about wealth creation and impact without sacrificing your values or lifestyle.

Okay, now that we have a clear picture of each level, let's dive into the specifics!

Stable profits

Nothing is more frustrating and soul-crushing than wondering where your next client will come from. Unfortunately, this happens when we follow the popular but entrepreneurial dream-crushing advice: "Just go out there and get clients."

When you have that mindset and approach, you always use the same tactics… and wind up recreating your career. Eventually, the referral network that was so generous in delivering clients to you stops. So how do you get out of this trap?

First, you need to shift your mindset and goals. Instead of seeing yourself as an expert in a particular area or even a consultant or coach, you see yourself as a business owner who happens to sell consulting or coaching services - small shift, big game-changer.

Now that you see yourself as the CEO of your business, you'll have the mindset that you would want any of your CEO clients to have, which is building a profitable business and all that goes with it.

This is how I help my clients in my signature Business and Brand Strategy and Messaging program. As I go through each item in building a powerful business foundation that sets your business up for consistency in your results, consider if you could benefit from my personalized guidance. If so, head over to my calendar and book some time with me at www.betsyjordyn.com/schedule to chat more about it.

Like any business, the first step is strategy – what do you do, for whom, and why. You need to get clear on your ideal client (hint – not everybody or anyone needs a coach or consultant.) It's a person your business exists to serve. If you have questions and pushback on narrowing down on your ideal client, go check out episodes 38 and 39, where I go into this.

Then you need to figure out the unique value you create for THIS one-of-a-kind client. And the ways that you can deliver that value framed up in compelling products and services.

And it's not enough for this strategy to exist on paper. You need to manifest it all on a credible website that serves as your online store. If you don't have a website, you don't have a business. You're a freelancer or subcontractor. Every business today has a website and a credible social media presence. You can land clients without a website, but you know that. But the need for a credible website that includes copy that excites people about what you do and high-quality visuals and content will impact your results. Think about the reality of what happens even when you get a lead from a referral. They will check out your website and social media platform, and if it doesn't exist or is ho-hum, you know what that potential will do. Hire someone else that conveys trust.

And you need a marketing system. Not marketing tactics that you occasionally do but a set of tactics to build awareness that you exist and motivate clients to work with you that are aligned to move a potential client along their journey toward working with you AND that you'll consistently implement.

And that's not all. There's one vital part of this stability puzzle – what you actually do to land clients. If your process is to give clients whatever they want or charge by the hour, you're leaving money on the table… period.

For example, when I started my consulting business, I did the bare minimum from a brand and website perspective. I got a friend to create me a brochure-style website and logo, gave my business a fictitious business name, got some cards printed up, and that was about it.

I got clients through referrals but was making decent money but only sometimes as I was waiting for the magical referral fairy to do its magic. Finally, I did it right when I had enough of that and got serious about going all in on my business. I invested in coaching that gave me the skills and perspective of a business owner and a credible website which did more than improve my brand image. It changed my perception of my worth which affected my language and pricing. The first client opportunity I got after launching my website came from a referral, but my perception of the value of what I did dramatically shifted, along with my sales skills. I 5x my fees for this engagement, and it set me on a very different trajectory than before. And that was almost 15 years ago, and so here I am.

What about you? Is your business set up for stable profits?

• Do you know your ideal clients and the unique value you can create for them?
• Do you have framed up products and services that are relevant and enticing for your ideal clients?
• Do you use messages and copy that resonates with your ideal clients in your marketing and website?
• Do you have a credible online presence – on your website and social media?
• Do you have a system (vs. one-off tactics for attracting and landing clients)?
• If no, on a scale of 1-10, how important is stability to you? If it's more than a five and you're not there yet, what steps can you take to achieve that goal?

Sustainable Success

Sustainable success is more than consistency right now. It is a business that we can feel 100% confident will be our primary source of income, and we know that we will never have to give up on the career control we want with our consulting and coaching business and have to "just get a job ."Ever again.

To achieve this type of sustainability with your business success, you only need two things:

1) Build a business that is aligned with your unique strengths, passions, and lifestyle priorities

2) Go ALL IN in your commitment to making your ideal business a success

First, let's talk about why it's essential to build a business out of the truth of who you are and what you want.

It's rare in my experience for an accomplished mid-career professional who knows how to make a ton of money, along with all the other perks that come with an executive career, to want to leave all that just for money. Why go through all the efforts of facing the fear of the unknown and the vulnerability of being the face of your own business, not to mention the investments of time and money, if it was just about the money? It's so much easier to get a job.

When your second act or career is a business, it's because you know it's a way to make a bigger difference, live in your zone of genius, and achieve balance in your life.

Therefore, to stay in the game and grow a thriving business filled with clients who are raving fans, you need to bring passion to what you do. You must enjoy what you do more than your fear of marketing or sales.

Many people talk about building a business you love as it's an intangible by-product rather than the profit generator it is. I will speak to you as a consumer and how you might make a buying decision. Who would you hire to help you grow your consulting or coaching business? Someone who is just looking for anyone who wants some business coaching so that they can achieve their income priorities, OR would you instead hire someone who is passionate about helping consultants and coaches like you and who has a unique skill set to solve your unique strategic confusion challenges that are holding you back from your goals?

The same goes for your clients. They will know if your heart isn't in your business.

And if your heart isn't in your business, you won't have anything to drive you to keep pushing yourself to do what you need to do to make your business successful.

This is why my business and brand strategy and messaging VIP experience includes an upfront, in-depth coaching call to help my clients start the RIGHT business for them.

I cannot tell you all the lightbulb moments my clients experienced through that one coaching call and how they got clear about their direction. For example, you'll be hearing from Denise in an upcoming podcast who is a former CIO who originally wanted to help companies who need her technology expertise. Instead, she realized through our work together that she wants to be an executive coach for women who wish to become CIOs.

It's not just a saying that clarity equals power. It does. Once you see how what you love to do the most and want to do the most can make money, everything else you need to grow your business will feel almost effortless. Or with less striving.

Now let's talk about going all in on your commitment. There are two parts to ALL IN commitment. The first commitment is all about mindset and expectations and being in it to win it. I'd love to promise you that once you have a goal, it's straight from today to that ideal state. But it doesn't work that way. Your path to success is more like an ice skater – you move side to side. You put an idea out there. The market responds. And then you adapt. You don't give up on your vision. You flex your tactics.

I learned this lesson when I was an internal consultant at Disney. What I love about Disney is that they always keep pursuing good ideas. They tweak it until it's a success or wait until the right time.

The second commitment is growing your skills as a business owner, especially around copywriting, marketing, sales, and persuasive communication. Of course, you will naturally grow your consulting and coaching skills as you continue to do the work. But you also need to grow your skills in running your business. It's for this reason that I started the Purpose to Profits Academy – an action learning membership community designed to offer immediate applicable skills in those areas that support sustainable, long-term growth. And why I'm offering this membership at a founder's rate of only $297 a month. I wanted a low-cost way to equip people with the skills that they need to succeed over the long haul. To learn more, check out www.betsyjordyn.com/academy.

What about you? Are you set up for sustainable growth?

• Do you know the why behind your business outside of making money?
• Is your business aligned with your strengths, passions, and total life priorities?
• Are you 100% committed to your sustainable success at a mindset and skill level?
• Scale of 1-10, how important is a guarantee of your long-term success to you? If over a five and you're not there yet, what shifts do you need to make?

Scalable Growth

One of the best things about creating content for me, including this podcast, is how sometimes, in preparing content creation, I realize that I'm the first student for the content.

I was never clear on my emerging vision for scalable growth until I gathered my thoughts for this episode.

Scalable growth is more than a predictable client pipeline, and it's more than being successful over the long term.

It's about creating a business that grows and generates revenue without increasing your time investment. It's getting to a place where what you do in your business are the things only you can do to maximize your wealth creation. That's not just about the money in the bank and your revenue but about having the time and freedom to enjoy everything you want to do with the one life you have to live.

Years ago, I had a mentor who described wealth as discretionary time; I had never heard this before.

How do you get there? Here are a few ideas:

• Get free from the trading time for money trap. Hourly or daily rates will cap your earning potential and give you only one way to make more money: to work more hours. One of the big things I teach in the Purpose to Profits Academy is pricing models that get you paid for value, not time.
• Make sure your business behind the business is efficient. I'm a passionate Kajabi purist because it's an all-in-one platform with almost everything I need to run my business in one place.
• Work on elevating your brand image and thought leadership positioning, including speaking, writing a book, starting a podcast, getting quoted in publications, etc. With your elevated brand image, you have the credibility and positioning to start charging premium fees, which automatically translates to making more money without working more hours.
• Create an online course and run ads to sell that course so you can generate passive revenue
• Come up with services like a Trusted Advisor program or a membership experience where people can access your smarts, but it doesn't require much time.
• Get strategic about your outsourcing. For all the tasks that are on your plate that you're not good at and/or hate, hire people to help you. If you want a podcast and aren't good at audio editing or the strategy of getting one off the ground, hire Hollyfield Consulting. They can get it done faster and at a better quality, and you can focus on what you're amazing at. Don't like social media marketing, email marketing, or calendar management. Hire a VA. There are many low-cost options, like the Doer's Way or iWorker.
• Turn your solopreneur business into a firm by hiring other consultants and coaches to support more clients. Word of caution – if you do this, your day-to-day role will shift from advising the client to marketing, sales, and leadership/management. ONLY go in this direction if you want to do THAT job.

What about you? Do you have a vision for scale? If so, what do you have in place to maximize your time and efficiency, and what's holding you back?

So there you have it, folks - the Profit Puzzle, decoded! We've covered the critical differences between stable, sustainable, and scalable profits and why it's essential to understand which type of profit your business is aiming to achieve.

• By shifting your mindset from a contractor or freelancer to a business owner who sells consulting or coaching services and taking actions such as getting clarity on your ideal client and unique value proposition, creating messages that resonate with your clients, building a credible website and marketing system that will consistently implement, you can go from hit-or miss results to predictable profits.
• By building a business out of who you are and that aligns with your priorities and going ALL in on your success – you can know for sure you can achieve sustainable success and never worry about having to give up on your dreams and get a job
• By implementing tactics that maximize your revenue and minimize your time, you can achieve scalable growth and experience that vision of wealth as discretionary time.

And if you need help making all this happen – I'm here for you!

Remember, there's no one-size-fits-all approach to profits. Depending on your goals and vision for your business, you may be aiming for stable, sustainable, or scalable profits. The key is to be intentional and strategic in your approach and always continue learning and growing as an entrepreneur.

As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic. What resonated with you the most? What questions or concerns do you have about building a profitable business? Let's keep the conversation going in the comments or on social media.

And if you haven't already, subscribe to the Enough Already podcast for more episodes like this one. We have some fantastic guests and topics lined up that I can't wait to share with you.

Until next time, my friends, keep building a business that lights you up and supports the life you want to live. You've got this!

About me: Betsy Jordyn is the founder and CEO of Betsy Jordyn International, a boutique branding firm that offers personalized mentoring and end-to-end creative design services to help high-achieving, purpose-driven entrepreneurs build profitable consulting and coaching businesses that they love. Betsy is the host of the weekly Enough Already podcast, blog, and YouTube channel, with over 300 episodes. Through her company and her content, she is on a mission to empower accomplished professionals to make the shift from success to significance and achieve their full potential in their careers and in their personal lives.  

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/betsy-jordyn/

Links:

Download my one of my free resources to help you accelerate your success: https://www.betsyjordyn.com/downloads 

Learn more about my brand messaging and positioning services: https://www.betsyjordyn.com/services 

Schedule a consult call to talk about what you need to do to nail your messaging and rock your copy so you can stand out in the market and attract clients: https://betsyjordyn.as.me/schedule