Let’s face it, without sales you aren’t going to last long in business.

When I started back in 2015, I hired a coach because I had no idea how to close a sale.

I followed his advice, studied sales models and applied them with success.

And my business started to boom.

In 2019 I hit my stride and all my income targets were met, plus some. 

But I was bleeding expenses. 

My philosophy? If it’s in the bank, it’s there to spend!

Never mind looking to the future, understanding cash flow or building an emergency fund.

And then 2020 hit and I was stuffed. 

The sales dried up. Work got pulled.

My bank account looked as empty as my diary.

The tough lesson I learned was there is more to smart growth than sales alone.

You see, the sales were great but during 2019 I was so busy delivering, that planning took a back seat.

My business was in chaos.

There was no profit to draw from.

And I had huge regrets.

It seems I wasn’t alone though.

According to Mainstreet Insights, Australia’s financial habits, July 2021, the number one financial regret of Australians is not prioritising their financial health earlier in life.

The biggest mindset shift was realising that growing a business isn’t just about more sales.

There are 3 fundamental aspects to smart growth.

At the foundation is planning

As Lewis Carroll said – any road will get you there if you don’t know where you’re going.

We must know where we’re going because that determines our focus.

Our focus then determines our actions.

Some key elements to successful planning:

• Make sure you review your business and personal vision annually
• Set targets and Key Performance Indicates (KPIs) for yourself and your team
• Identify your Wildly Important Goals (WIGS) for the next 6 months
• Set 90-day milestones that work towards achieving the WIGs
• Review and adjust as needed every month at a minimum
• Identify and complete at least 3 tasks each week that move the dial in the right direction
• Have a ‘plan on a page’ that you can see each day to keep you on track

Growth comes from sales

Sales will always be important in business growth.

But we can be smarter about it as we grow.

Here are just a handful of actions we can take:

• Set targets, for you and your team and celebrate achieving them
• Regularly review your prices and where appropriate, increase them
• Set up sales structures and processes in your business so your team members can sell
• Get clear on your ideal client and only work with them
• Determine how profitable our various services are and kill off those that don’t make us money

We can’t take the foot off the break here, but we can smooth out our demand.

Build wealth through profit

This is often the forgotten piece for many female-founded businesses that I work with.

There are a variety of approaches to wealth creation in business.

Here are some I recommend:

• Set targets each year, including your profit target
• Put money aside for tax, including GST (it’s not your money to spend)
• Set up a cloud-based accounting system that’s easy for your team to use
• If you delegate your book-keeping make sure not to delegate understanding your figures – learn how to read a Profit & Loss statement and Balance Sheet
• Know your cash-flow projection for the next 3 months minimum
• Have 3-6 months of expenses set aside in an Emergency Fund
• Regularly review your expenses

According to Inc Magazine & The Kauffman Foundation, two-thirds of the 300 fastest-growing private companies in the US had either shrunk stagnated or failed within 5-8 years.

Don’t become another statistic of rapid growth. 

When you focus on all 3 areas of smart growth, you give yourself the best chance of long-term business success.

To help you focus on smart growth, we’ve created the Smart Growth Checklist, which will you tell you exactly where your business strengths and gaps are in under 4 minutes. 

It’s quick and easy way to get a helicopter view of the state of your business, through the perspective of reactive vs. proactive growth

It’s powerful and will quickly become an invaluable tool in your business

You can download it here.