3 Simple Ways I Increased My Revenue as an Entrepreneur
Last year, I set the intention to increase my revenue. I wish I could tell you I had a plan to do it, but as with many things in my life, I didn’t. I like flying by the seat of my pants and so far, it works for me.
To practice my intention (as opposed to reaching a specific goal), I figured I would just be mindful and see where it got me. I took opportunities as they came, I pursued new things when I wanted, and at the end of the year, lo and behold, I increased my revenue. Hooray!
So even though I didn’t have a plan going into the year, hindsight is 20/20, and it’s easy to look back and see what really made a difference.
Naturally, not all of my efforts were equally fruitful. Looking back, raising my revenue was more about internal changes than getting more customers, and the changes that made the biggest difference to my bottom line are surprisingly simple.
Here are my three, simple, internal changes that helped raise my revenue.
1. I STARTED CHARGING A FLAT FEE
I have been told to charge a flat fee for years but never did anything about it. I didn’t realize how big of a difference it would make.
When you charge hourly, you can only make money for the active time you are working, rather than the value you are bringing to the company.
Plus, you are basically punishing yourself every time you are efficient and get done early.
By making the change to flat fee pricing, I could charge based on the value I brought to the company (more money!) and had more of an incentive to work efficiently (making time to earn even more money!).
Let me clarify – it is not ethical to drag out a project to rack up billable hours. But when you do work hourly, you should be spending that time totally focused on that one client. When you are working on a flat fee, you can do things like plow through emails or batch other similar tasks without having to assign each minute to a client, and that’s more efficient.
If you are already charging hourly, you should have enough information to calculate future flat fees. Look at how long similar projects took you before, how much you charged, and offer that as the flat fee. Sometimes you’ll go under, sometimes you’ll go over, but ultimately, you just need to be comfortable with the price.
2. I DIVERSIFIED (A LITTLE)
The majority of my work still comes from helping other PR firms get media placements for their clients. I’m something like a ghost publicist. 👻
In addition to that, I started doing more speaking gigs, workshops, and even an online course.
Looking at each of these things individually, I didn’t think they were making a real difference. It was just a few hundred dollars here and there. But when they were all added up together, I was shocked by how much they really moved the needle.
I think the trick is to diversify without losing what you are known for. All of my speaking gigs, workshops and courses are about DIY PR. Keeping it all in the same lane helped me stay focused even when I was flying by the seat of my pants!
3. I BELIEVED I DESERVED IT
Are we allowed to deserve more money? Are we allowed to believe it?
The answer is a resounding YES and let me tell you why it matters.
This mental trick is life-changing. I always used to second guess myself or talk myself out of asking for a higher rate. Then, something happened that gave me the confidence to ask for more.
Someone I had done a workshop for in the past approached me about doing another one for her new employees. (Side Note: It’s always a good sign when people want to hire you again.) Since the time I had done the workshop with her before, my price has doubled. At first, I was debating if I should tell her the new price because I was afraid it might turn her away.
Instead, she said yes immediately.
This was a huge confidence boost for me and now I always remind myself that if you never ask you are never going to get it. So simple.