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So many businesses are “launch-based” — never earning revenue unless something is actively being promoted or clients are locked into long-term contracts.
And then, once that promotion is over, the business owner is frantically trying to create the next program, product or service to launch.
Imagine it. . .high revenue one month, low revenue the next two, then high again, then low. Your revenue isn’t meant to be a roller coaster ride.
This is no way to live, let alone run a business.
The difference between a launch-based business and a sustainable business is simple:
Launch-based businesses are akin to sitting in traffic — start, stop, start, stop. They take longer to reach their goals and burn up twice the time and energy getting there.
Launch-based businesses often charge higher prices and lock their clients into longer term contracts. . .this lessens the fear of having to go “find” more clients and do another launch soon.
Launch-based businesses tend to have their owners wide awake and scared at 3 in the morning.
Sustainable businesses a akin to cruising along a 4-lane highway at 2 in the morning — reaching their goals quickly and enjoying the scenery along the way.
Sustainable businesses tend to be more flexible in payment arrangements and program types, knowing that next month’s revenue isn’t dependent on any one client or contract.
You see, a sustainable business is leveraged. Everything from marketing to Extreme Client Care(tm) to financial management is designed to overlap in such a way that it becomes effortless to manage the business so you can focus on doing what you do best.
Make It Real: My Request To You
Schedule a day on your calendar within the next week to review your business:
• Start with your financials — if you use a version of QuickBooks, run your Profit and Loss by month for 2010. Look at the revenue. . .the most telling thing would be to export it to Excel and show Revenue by month as a bar graph. No QuickBooks? No worries. . .just list out your revenue by month and look at it — you’ll see the trends.
• Look at your programs. . .and your contracts. Are you proud of how you feel when you read them (would you sign up?) or are they coming from a place of fear (do they feel binding)? No need to overanalyze — your first, intuitive response is usually right on here.
• Where will your revenue come from in October? A sustainable business owner can generally answer this question.
Going through the above exercise will show you, quickly and easily, whether your business is currently launch-based and needs tweaking or whether it’s sustainable and ready for optimization.