INSIGHTS FROM A BIG OL' YEAR OF GROWTH
This time last year, I sent an email sharing some insights from my first six-figure year in business (psst… you can find it here if you missed it).
Fast-forward 12 months, and I’ve almost doubled that number, bringing in more than $180K in revenue, and a smidgen over $150K in profit.
In short, it’s been a bloody good year.
Not that I’ll be tooting off into the sunset in a shiny new Tesla anytime soon (*looks fondly at ‘02 Toyota Corolla, complete with CD player and wind-up windows*), but at the same time, I’m no longer worried about money or my ability to generate it, which feels like a pretty big win.
BEST DAY EVEERRRR
Anywhoo, following on from last year’s tradition, here are some insights from a big ol’ year of growth, shared in the hope of starting some more transparent — and therefore useful — conversations around money, scale, and running a business as a one-woman-show.
*clears throat*
In July last year (our financial year here in Australia runs from July 1 to June 30, in case you’re wondering why I’m harping on about all this stuff now), when I looked at my accounting software and realised I’d cracked $100K, I immediately set a big hairy financial goal for the year ahead:
$200K in revenue.
Which, on one hand, I really had no business setting (“WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN DOUBLE YOUR BEST YEAR EVER, YOU HOPEFUL FOOL?” ← me, to myself) but on the other, was backed by a clear, concrete plan of attack, that even the most grounded people in my life couldn’t poke too many holes in.
The basis of the plan was spending more time on the online course arm of my business and less time on client work, partly because I not-so-secretly love running group programs, and partly because selling things 1:many is a really effective way to scale.
In the end, I increased my course-related revenue from $20K in the previous financial year to $119K last financial year, and simultaneously decreased my client-related revenue from $82K to $66K.
Which brings me to my first point…
If you run a service-based business, chances are you need to let some things go in order to scale
AND I STRONGLY SUGGEST SLEEP ISN’T ONE OF THEM ;)
What you let go of will depend on how your business looks and how you want it to look, but for me it meant deliberately taking on fewer full launch projects, and saying no to some really beautiful opportunities in the process.
(Let’s talk about THAT one day... for now, I’ll just say it was bloody hard to turn them down at the time, but now I’m here, I’m glad I did: this year has been a great reminder in the value of holding space for your own plans, in spite of whatever shiny objects might cross your path along the way).
In total, I took 13 weeks off client work over the course of the year to give myself the time and space required to be fully present in all my own launches AND to enjoy those wonderful things called holidays, so I could keep firing on all cylinders whenever I was working.
While we’re on the topic of letting things go, you know what was the hardest shift for me this year?
Asking for help.
Yep. Turns out I like to CONTROL ALL OF THE THINGS, which flat out isn’t possible when you start doing things at scale. The weird thing is that I *know* that this control-freak side of me is getting in the way of even bigger growth, but I still experience so much resistance when I think about hiring help…
Until I do it and wonder what took me so bloody long —
Which is a sentiment I need someone to tattoo on my forehead so it glares back at me from my laptop screen whenever I’m spending time on tasks I hate, suck at, or pull me away from the work I *actually* need to be doing.
Which brings me to my second point…
It pays to be discerning with your time, *especially* as you increase your reach and visibility
Thanks to a concerted effort on my part, there are now more opportunities in my inbox each month than I can poke a stick at (some of them great, some of them not-so-great)—
Which is a WILDLY AMAZING privilege, and also pretty overwhelming. The good news is that I love me some boundaries, and I’m really clear on where I’m taking my business and how I need to spend my time in order to get there.
If something isn’t in service of that goal and that vision, it gets a “no thank you”—
Even if it’s from a human I like very VERY much.
I’m only telling you this because “people-pleasing” is something that comes up all the time in my work with other business-owning humans, and I’m convinced it’s one of the biggest blocks to growth.
So, in case you need it, here’s a healthy way to think about saying no to whatever requests might be pulling you away from the vision you’ve got for your business:
A ‘no’ ISN'T a reflection of:
how much you like someone
how much you want to help someone, or
the value of what they bring to the table
It’s about you being deliberate with the time and energy you have to devote to your business, safe in the indisputable knowledge that once spent, you can never get either of those things back.
"She makes a good point..."
Since we’re here, in this vulnerable kind of space, let’s talk about failure.
Because, as you would’ve worked out about 20 paragraphs ago (geez, I write long blog posts) I fell short of my big hairy goal of $200K. But y’know what?
There’s so much to gain by setting goals you’re ready and willing to fail in pursuit of
REALLY: I CAN’T RECOMMEND IT ENOUGH
Firstly, because it will keep you in stretch (which is where ALL the good things happen), and secondly, because things will still feel pretty good even IF you fall short.
Case in point: me, over here, with my $150K in profit.
Of course the third outcome of this approach is that you will — inevitably — reframe your relationship with failure, to the point where it becomes something to strive for.
Yeah, I know. Bit weird. But try it, and get back to me ;)
The equally important part of this approach to goal-setting is taking the time to check in with how you’re tracking, celebrate what’s working, and identify where you’re falling short.
I know it’s uncomfortable, but if you skip this part, you leave a STACK of actionable insight on the table.
(If you’re wondering, I can tell you *exactly* where and how I fell short of the $200K. Hit me up if you want to know! I’m always happy to share this kinda stuff.)
Ok, before this post becomes Tolkeinian, let me leave you with one more piece of insight, plucked from my knowledge of where I’m heading next…
I’ve decided this next financial year’s going to be the one where I start using more of my expertise on my *own* business
THE INTERESTING PIECE HERE FOR ME (AND THE ONE THAT I HOPE MIGHT BE USEFUL FOR YOU) IS ACKNOWLEDGING THAT IN ORDER TO MAKE THIS WORK, I NEED TO REPOSITION MYSELF IN RELATION TO MY BUSINESS.
Part of that is separating myself from it, through incorporation (which had to happen for me anyway, in order to retain more of my profit post-tax) and the creation of digital products; and part of that is shifting my narrative around service.
I’m still trying to find the right words to put around this, but there’s something meaty in there about shifting away from being on hand, live to help ALL the people I serve (whether that’s through client work or my online courses), to being of service to more people through a static (but still EXCELLENT) product.
Weirdly nestled in the midst of all of that is the fact that scaling with digital products will actually allow me to spend more time serving YOU through the other things I really love doing, like writing very long emails, sharing my thoughts on business-related conundrums, and running free workshops.
In short, it’s all a bit messy.
Even so, the cool thing is that I’m feeling pretty chill about being able to scale my income a lot this financial year. I can see the path forward and know it’s possible—
The thing I’m interested in is whether it’s going to be the right move for me. Just ‘cause you can do something, doesn’t mean you should, right?
And that feels like a good note to leave this on.
With love from the old Corolla,
Kirsty xo
Want insights like this delivered direct to your inbox? Join my list and get a free launch workshop on the way in.