Thinking shifts I made to scale from $100k to $370k revenue p.a.

It’s been a while since I’ve done a behind-the-scenes on my own business. So in today’s episode, I’m going to be sharing the thinking shifts that I had to make to move my business from six to multiple six figures. Let’s dive in.

Hello and welcome to The Clare Wood Podcast, where myself and incredible guests share about money mindset, financial successes, and how to manage your money in a fun and practical way to create wealth and abundance in both your business and your life. I’m your host, Clare Wood. I’m a business coach and our money mentor. I strongly believe that money has the power to positively change the world. I can’t wait to help you transform your mindset around money, create a love of numbers, and build the business of your dreams so you can live a life of financial freedom, giving, and global impact.

My feelings of shame in recording this episode

Before I dive into today’s episode, I want to state the obvious. It’s something that really annoys me about the online world, and yet I find myself doing it as well, which is that we talk about revenue figures and not actually profit figures. So because I am really passionate about teaching business owners about profit, I’m going to be sharing my profit numbers as well. So not just headlining with the top line, sexy sales numbers, but diving into the profitability as well. The second thing that I wanted to share is that I actually found myself finding a bit of shame around recording this podcast episode. And let me explain why. So one of my followers on Instagram, who’s actually a friend of mine, very dear friend of mine as well, reached out and asked why I haven’t been sharing what’s going on in my own business in terms of the successes and the growth that I’m achieving. And truthfully, I felt a little bit embarrassed to share. And the reason isn’t because I’m not really proud of what I’ve accomplished, but it’s because a lot of the clients that I coach are actually further along on their business journey than me. They are making more revenue and more profit than I am because I’ve positioned myself as a coach that works with six and multi-six-figure business owners scaling to the seven-figure mark. And a lot of the clients I’ve worked with over the years are already making a million dollars a year in revenue. And my business isn’t quite there yet. So I felt a bit awkward sharing my numbers because I’ve been worried that clients might feel a bit funny that they are earning more money than me. Now, on so many levels, this is not the right thinking, which is why I’ve decided to overcome this and have this conversation today. And let me share what some of those reasons that this thinking is wrong.

1. Just because someone is making a million dollars year in revenue does not mean that they are making a good profit. In fact, quite often, people earning seven figures a year aren’t even turning a profit.
2. There are people earlier on in their business journey who would be massively inspired by where I am now. So, I feel like I need to be open up the conversation and show people not only what is possible, but also how to get there.
3. I am such a big advocate of us talking about money, of us having open conversations about it. And people not feeling embarrassed or ashamed about what stage of business they are at, whether they’re at the very early stages of business or whether they’re hugely successful. I think that the more that we can open up and have these honest conversations around money, the more that it empowers, particularly women business owners to own their success and to also know what is possible.

So here I am today, sharing vulnerably and importantly, not just sharing the what, but also the how.

The importance of profit over sales when sharing your figures

First of all, I want to share some of my top-line figures. 2019 was my first six-figure revenue year, but in 2019, I only made a profit of $7,000. So again, this is a conversation that a lot of people aren’t having, but I am very bravely putting my numbers out there and sharing them with the world.

In 2020, my revenue grew to $250,000 with a profit of $70,000. And in 2021, my revenue was $370,000 with a profit of $105,000. Now, straight off the bat, you might think, how does someone earn that much revenue and it doesn’t translate directly into their bottom line? And I’m going to be talking a little bit about this today, about why I have very intentionally been reinvesting back into my business and also how a lot of people don’t talk about this.

I really want to open up the conversation and show people that it is normal to have a top-line, sexy figure, but perhaps the business isn’t making quite as much profit as it might seem like it’s making. I shared multiple times on the podcast before that I’ve worked with several seven-figure business owners, i.e., they’re making a million dollars revenue a year and sometimes they are not making very much profit at all. So let’s start changing the way that we talk about six and seven figures. And let’s start talking about our profit numbers as well. And I, for one, am going to be leading by example.

From 2020 to 2021, my revenue increased by $120,000. And if you’re quite good with maths, you will have noticed that my profit only grew by $35,000. So what happened between those two years that my profit wasn’t growing at the same rate as my revenue? Well, I made a very conscious decision in 2021 to invest heavily back into my business. Over the year, I spent about $80,000 working with business coaches and doing programs. Now I know that number might seem terrifying to a lot of people, but I’m going to share a little bit later on why I consciously made that choice. I also spent over $30,000 on getting a new website built. Again, this might seem like a what the hell kind of number, but let me break down later in the episode, why I chose to do that and how that thinking is really going to serve me to elevate my business massively in the coming year and years to come.

I also spent $5,000 so far on my book. I’ve shared before on the podcast that I have a book that is coming out in a couple of months. It is such an amazing book, literally full of practical and mindset tips to help you grow the profit in your business. And it has been an investment to create this book. So that was another thing that I very consciously invested in 2021.

The ways I invested in my business to grow my profit (even if it isn’t seen straight away)

The purpose of this episode is not about the numbers, but I really wanted to share them with you so that you have the context around the thinking shift that I have made to scale from six to multi-six, and soon to seven figures in my business. What are the thinking shifts that I made?

Firstly, and this is going to sound so counterintuitive for an accountant to be saying this, but I stopped focusing on short-term profit. Now profit is great, but you can be limiting your long term growth by focusing on your short-term success. I’ve supported so many people to shift their thinking around this. And even though their profit might not be increasing rapidly in the short term, or it might even be decreasing. Overall in the long term, it is growing because they are making decisions to scale the business. Sometimes we have to take a short step sideways or even backwards with a focus on the long-term success. And something that I’m a big believer in, as long as it’s done intentionally, that’s okay. If your business is going backwards and you are just completely winging it and you don’t have a plan, then for me, that would be a concern.

Making the decision to invest really heavily into my business has been a scary one, but one that I know will deliver returns for years to come. It’s something I discussed with my husband. After I created a plan, I showed him what it could look like, and he was very supportive of me to follow this path.

The next thing that I did, which is related really quite closely to the first point that I just made, which is that I invested to work with the best, not the cheapest. So you heard how much I invested into coaching. That was with a couple of different coaches, but there was one main coach that I worked with for most of 2021. And the work that we did together is life changing. I know that coaching pays dividends for years to come. And particularly for me as a coach, the more that I learn, the more that I am able to elevate my thinking around energy, around strategy, around success, the more I am able to help and support and inspire my own clients to grow. So for me, investing with a coach is a double whammy. It really is worth it. I didn’t hire the cheapest business coach because I didn’t want to work with the cheapest business coach. I wanted to work with someone who was creating world-class ripples and learn and be inspired by her.

Similarly, with my website, I know that you can build a website for a lot cheaper than what I did. I invested in photography, videography. I had a whole new brand created and a sub-brand created as well, which you’ll learn more about in future podcast episodes. The copywriter that I used and the branding expert that I used, aren’t the cheapest, but they were who I wanted to work with. I wanted to create an incredible website. I’ve seen the first draft, and it is, I can’t wait to share it with you soon.

I am not suggesting that people should throw money at a wall willy-nilly. And if you can’t afford to work with the coach or web designer or whoever it is that you want to work with at this particular point in time, I’m not saying that you have to go all in and stretch yourself to a point financially that you are not able to pay your bills. However, in my circumstance, I’d created a budget and I had a consistent revenue stream that I knew would be coming in for months to come. So I felt very confident in my investments.

How I shifted my mindset to grow my business

The next thing that I did to have a big income shift, I did so much work on my money mindset. Now you might think, “Aren’t you a money mindset coach, Clare? How much more work have you got to do?” Let me tell you, this work never ends. Even the coaches that I work with, who are global coaches, are continuing to invest in working on their money mindset. Your money mindset is how you feel about money and it underpins the actions that you take and the steps that you take in your business. I continue to do this work daily because every new level in business brings new fears and new challenges. So you need to be continually revisiting your mindset to make sure that you aren’t stepping back into old patterns.

I can hand on heart say the biggest thing that will shift you from six to multi-six figures starts with your mindset. Yes, you need to take action, but ultimately, any action that you take needs to be grounded in a solid money mindset. This work is a game changer. What money mindset has enabled me to do is stop focusing on what could go wrong and start focusing on what could go right. And the more that you start to look for the things that could go right, they don’t always go right, but a lot of the time they do because that is where you are focusing your time and energy.

Why self-care has been a game changer for my business

The final thing that I’ve done differently between the six-figure revenue mark and the multi-six-figure mark, is that I am looking after myself on a whole new level. I’ve always been quite good at self-care, but I’ve started taking it even to the next level. This has meant cutting back on the number of hours that I am coaching. It has meant a lot more self-care. I’m spending time meditating every day and truly taking care of myself, making sure that I am supported. I am now working with a therapist and a coach, and I continually look for new ways to make sure that I am feeling supported in every way that I need. I’m spending a lot more time indulging myself, getting my hair done, my nails done soon. I’m going to start getting regular facials. And this work really is a game changer.

Another thing that I’ve started doing is attending regular retreats. There is something so powerful about stepping away from the office and the work on your business, particularly if you’re doing it in a beautiful environment and in the energy of some incredible people.

If the sound of a retreat sounds amazing, I’m running a retreat in July, which is called The Level Up Retreat. I had such an amazing retreat earlier this year that I wanted to run another one. And this one will be even more next level. It will be in the Gold Coast hinterland. Think red wine, fireplace, hot chocolates. We’ll be having the best time all while focusing on your business growth.

There are three main things that this retreat was set up to help you do.

1. It’s all about having peace, quiet, serenity, and the opportunity to take some time to work on you.
2. You’ll meet some incredible and successful business owners to build friendships that last a lifetime.
3. Yes, it’s all about the touchy-feely stuff, but we’ll also be diving into a lot of money mindset and money work to help you have your next income up level.

If you’d like to find out more about the retreat and come and spend a couple of days with me and some incredible business owners, make sure you do click on the link in the bio to find out more or drop me a DM over on Instagram @clare_wood_coach.

To sum up today’s episode, sales is not profit, but if you are wanting to step into your next income level, it might be helpful to you to stop focusing so much on your short-term profit and think about thinking like a multiple six-figure business owner. This might involve reinvesting and perhaps reinvesting heavily back into your business. You also need to do a ton of money mindset work as a lot of fears and blocks come up as you are starting to grow, and stories around why you can’t step into the next level.

Lastly, I would recommend doing the inner work. How can you make sure that you are supported in the way that you need to be to step into your next level? Some of the things that I suggested are self-care and getting away for a retreat. And don’t forget, I’ve got my own retreat if you would like to come and join me on that.

Thank you so much for tuning into today’s episode of the podcast. And if you have enjoyed today’s episode, please share it with your audience because I would love for more people to feel confident and empowered when it comes to creating a long-term profitable business. If you do share it on social media, please make sure you tag me @clare_wood_coach so I can thank you. Have a fab week, I’ll chat to you soon.

Thanks so much for listening. If you love this episode, please share it with your audience and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @clare_wood_coach. And also, make sure you hit subscribe so you never miss an episode. Have an abundant week. I look forward to talking to you again next week.