Catch up on some related episodes:

Today’s talking points:

Ask yourself these three questions to find out exactly where you should focus your time and energy this quarter.

Join me on Instagram

I have a question for you, Boss…

With all the different ways that you can grow your business, how do you decide what you should be focused on next?

This is a question I get asked all the time, and I completely understand it.

As business owners, we are overwhelmed with all the ideas, all the different marketing strategies we could implement, all the different branding updates we could make. We're always wanting to tweak and test and create new things.

But what do you actually need to get laser-focused on in order to see the results that you want to see in 2023 and beyond?

I'm going to break down how to decide what you should focus on next based on three big questions you need to ask yourself.

If you've been feeling like you're spinning your wheels a little bit and you have a to-do list a mile long, but you can't quite figure out how to prioritise where you should be investing your time and energy… you’ll want to listen up.

We are going to go through this quick process to help you decide what to focus on next so that you can get the results you're looking for even faster.

Plus, this is part 1 of a new series all about getting ready for the second half of the year.

Let’s dive in.

Q3 is just around the corner…

We’re now in June! What a month it's shaping up to be as we approach the end of Q2 and wrap up the first half of the year.

As we go through this process of figuring out your next steps, I want you to take a moment to reflect on where your business stands in terms of growth because the truth is, there will always be a million ideas and an endless to-do list. This can often become a big obstacle for business owners who find themselves stuck in a cycle of adding tasks without making progress towards their goals.

Let me give you an example. I often hear from people who have ambitious goals for their business. When I ask them what they need to do next, their response is often something like, "Well, I need to completely overhaul my website and rewrite all the copy." While tasks like updating your website or enhancing your branding are valuable, they may not be the most important steps to take in order to reach your goals.

So, let's dive into three important questions that will help you determine your immediate next steps. These are the key areas you should focus on over the next 90 days to bring your business closer to its goals.

question 1) Do you need new clients and cash flow in the next 90 days?

Chances are, the answer to this question is yes for many of us.

If that's the case, many of the activities on your to-do list might not be the most effective way to achieve that goal within a 90-day timeframe. This is why this timeframe is important because, as business owners, we always need to bring in new clients and sales. So we can't afford to spend time on activities that won't lead to that specific outcome.

What can you do if you need to bring in those clients, sales, and cash flow within the next 90 days? The answer is actually quite simple. You need to come up with a clear, simple plan to quickly connect with the right people, communicate how you can serve them, and guide them towards taking the next step in working with you. The good news is that this plan can be incredibly straightforward. In fact, whenever I needed to fill a private client spot for myself or help my clients do the same, a few emails were usually all it took. You don't have to complicate things with elaborate launches, expensive ads, or intricate funnels. Even if you have a small or limited list, you can still make this process work by reaching out to people directly via email or social media.

So, where do you start? Sit down and think about what information you need to share with potential clients to get them interested in your services or programmes. Consider what details you should provide to give them the confidence to take the next step. In my experience, a couple of well-crafted emails do the trick. These emails should inform recipients about the available spots in your offer, highlight the benefits and results they can expect, and provide clear instructions on what to do next. Personally, I find it effective to direct people to a dedicated page where they can find all the information they need about working with me in this particular offer. They can then either fill out an application form or request a strategy session to ensure it's a good fit for them.

This approach works best for those who have already made some progress in their business journey and have an audience to tap into. A great starting point is sending a business announcement email. Just like you would celebrate milestones in your personal life with housewarming parties, baby showers, or engagement parties, it's important to announce your business achievements in a similar way. A business announcement email simply informs people in your network about your business and provides them with information on how to learn more about working with you or letting them know how they can send referral clients your way. It can be a straightforward message to consistently raise awareness about your business, who you serve, and what the next steps towards working together look like.

If you're just getting started and don't have a large audience to share this with, you can still send a business announcement email to those who already know and trust you. They may not be your ideal clients, but they could potentially refer someone who is.

So, for those of you who answered "yes" to this question, that is where I would focus my energy: on an email campaign or a business announcement email.

Question 2) How do you make sure that you have new clients coming in when your current clients finish?

The next question I want you to ask yourself is what to focus on next. If you already have booked clients and a full client roster, you know that you have cash flow coming in.

However, the chances are, as I've seen with many clients, your next concern will be how to avoid the feast or famine cycle. You'll want to ensure that you consistently have new clients and sales coming in when your current clients wrap up. Does that sound familiar?

Whenever you finish with your current client roster, you find yourself scrambling to fill those spots, and it can be frustrating. The feast or famine cycle is a common struggle for many business owners because, often, when we take on new clients, we tend to neglect the activities that attract new people to our business. These activities include marketing and sales.

The key to overcoming the feast or famine cycle is implementing a marketing strategy that works for you, even when you have a full client roster, even when you're swamped with orders or feel like you don't need clients immediately. It should work behind the scenes, attracting, engaging, and nurturing potential clients so that when your existing client roster wraps up their contracts, projects, coaching, or services, you have a new group of people ready to take their place.

I understand that this strategy can feel overwhelming at times. There are so many moving parts, and it can be challenging to manage everything. If you've listened to any of my content, such as the Busy to Boss podcast or attended my Abundance Action free challenge, you'll know that I teach marketing using a specific framework based on the customer journey. This framework incorporates consumer psychology and guides you on how to make people know, like, and trust you, ultimately leading them to make a buying decision.

Using this strategy simplifies how you approach marketing, and it consists of five parts, let me briefly cover them now. The five-part marketing strategy breaks down as follows:

Attract: This step involves getting in front of new people who don't know you yet. There are three main ways to achieve this: leveraging other people's audiences, such as speaking as a guest or guest posting; utilising search strategies for long-term results; and using paid advertising after testing and validating your message, offer, and sales process with warm traffic.
Engage: Once you attract new audiences, you want them to learn more about you. This is where the engagement phase comes in. You should ask them to stay in touch by capturing their contact information. Building an email list is a powerful method that outperforms other strategies in terms of effectiveness, cost, and convenience. Social media engagement is useful, but statistics show that only a small percentage of your followers will see your content.
Nurture: This phase involves regularly providing valuable and consistent content that nurtures your audience. It could be through newsletters, blogs, podcasts, or video shows. By nurturing your audience, you build trust, answer their questions, and help them see results. In the past, nurturing had to be done one-on-one, but now technology allows us to nurture hundreds or thousands of people simultaneously in a more leveraged and scalable way.
Invite: After nurturing your audience, it's time to ask for the sale. This is where you make your offer and encourage them to take action.
Delight: Once people become your clients, it's crucial to delight them. By providing excellent service and exceeding their expectations, you encourage repeat business, receive rave reviews, and gain referrals.

So if you are struggling with the feast or famine cycle, if you don't have that next group of clients lined up and ready to work with you, if you don't know when those spots are going to open up and the cash flow is going to stop, then you need to be putting in place a marketing strategy that helps to ensure you are consistently filling those spots.

question 3) once you have clients and a strategy to ensure sales for the next 90 days, are you ready to grow your business?

It's crucial to have these two elements in place before considering how to double your business or increase your figures from four to five or five to six.

Now, why is this the final question? Because if you haven't secured clients and cash flow, it's easy to skip ahead and neglect prioritising profits. Profit should always be your top priority. So, make sure you have clients and cash flow secured for the first 90 days and a plan to generate sales for the following 90 days. Establish a marketing strategy to maintain a steady flow of clients. Once these pieces are in place, we can focus on optimising your business for the best results.

Okay, so let's explore the three main ways to grow your business if your goal is to double it this year. For example, if you earned 40k last year and aim to make 80k this year, or if you made 60k last year and want to reach 120k this year, there are three simple and straightforward ways to double your business.

1) The first way is to assess your pricing.

Are you priced for profit? Many women I work with tend to underprice their offerings or haven't raised their prices in a long time. Underpricing not only leaves money on the table, but it also has a negative compounded effect that hinders growth. It makes it harder and harder to catch up. To overcome this, consider increasing your prices if you're overwhelmed with clients and have a packed calendar. Don't stick to trading hours for money.

2) The second aspect to focus on is generating new sales.

How can you reach more people and sell your product, programme, or service to a wider audience? If you’re a service provider this may feel like a challenge because there s a capacity issue in delivering a service. If you've hit capacity and can no longer take on more clients, it's time to explore ways to leverage your offering. This might involve transitioning from one-on-one coaching to group coaching or creating courses or classes that teach people your expertise. Flexibility in your business model can help you serve more clients effectively.

3) Lastly, for substantial business growth, focus on long-term customer value.

Don't overlook the opportunities presented by your existing client base. Rather than solely pursuing new clients, tap into your existing relationships and offer them additional services or products. It's much easier to sell to an existing client who already knows, likes, and trusts you. Consider creating new programmes or offers exclusively for your current and past clients. For instance, a web designer I know has exclusive offers available only to her current and existing clients, not to the general public. By considering the long-term value of your customers, you can enhance your business growth.

it’s time for a recap

Let's recap the three questions you need to ask yourself to determine your next focus in your business.

Question number one: Do you need current clients and cash flow in the next 90 days? If that's the case, prioritise it by implementing a simple email campaign. Even if you're just starting out and have a small list, leverage your existing community, friends, and colleagues to start generating those initial sales.
Question number two: Have you new clients lined up? If you're set for the next 90 days with a good cash flow and full spots, you must ensure you have clients for the following 90 days. Falling into the feast or famine cycle, where you struggle to find new clients once your existing ones finish their contracts or programmes, can be avoided. To break this cycle, implement a straightforward marketing system with the five-step approach I shared: attract, engage, nurture, invite, and delight. This system will work for you by ensuring a steady stream of potential clients ready to work with you.
Question number three: Are you ready to grow your business? You currently have clients booked and clients booked for later, but you want to grow. Here are three areas to consider: First, evaluate your pricing. Second, explore how to sell your offers to more people. And third, look at increasing your customer's lifetime value.

I really hope this one helps you focus in the right direction.