I always ask my clients “How big a business do you want?”, so we have a target and a sense for what we’re both working toward.
Today, I’m going to pick that target for you …
$150k+
At least $150,000 in revenue.
I’m going to dive into a lot of detail as to WHY, exactly, that should be your first target … and just as importantly … HOW to achieve that.
It’s a fairly long post, but oh so worth it.
If you’ve grown past $150k, please don’t stop! You’re doing great. 😀
But … if you haven’t yet reached that level yet, here’s why you should be aiming to grow to and through $150k.
First of all, some cold hard facts …
In spite of all the enthusiasm in the coaching industry, 50% of all coaches make less than $25,000/year! That’s poverty level! 😮
That is just not right!
Not only that, but … only 25% of coaches make over $75k/year.
If you think $75k is a lot, it’s NOT. That’s revenue, NOT take-home pay.
Remember, you have expenses to pay:
1. Tools
2. Teachings
3. Team
4. Taxes
And, if you are doing it right, you also set aside 10% for Profit First. (Read Profit First, by Michael Michalowicz. Excellent book!)
The bottom line is …
Your take-home pay is typically 50% of revenue.
So, that amazing $75k is actually $37,500 take-home pay. NOT very inspiring at all. 🙁
What is a good number?
I offer you, on a platter, surrounded by strawberries, sprinkled with icing sugar on top … $150k.
Why $150k+?
Why not?
Ok, here’s a better answer, grounded in the science of psychology.
Somewhere, in some lonely lab, some curious psychologists decided to study whether more money meant more happiness.
Guess what? … It turns out that more money DOES mean more happiness! Who knew? 😮
Up to a point. Specifically … up to (drum roll) $75k take-home pay.
That’s right. Your happiness goes up as your income goes up, until you hit $75k take-home pay. After that, your basic needs are taken care of, plus some security and fun money, so any extra income doesn’t have as much impact on your happiness as the first $75k.
So, $75k take-home pay is MAXIMUM HAPPINESS. 😀 !!!
And if we reverse engineer that, assuming 50% of revenue is take-home pay, that means we need to target $150k in revenue to maximize our happiness.
$150k+ Revenue
-> $75k+ Take-Home Pay
-> Maximum Happiness 😀
That’s a damn good target to aim for.
Much better than “I don’t know. More?”
What do you think? Not bad, ay?
For those of you with BIGGER AMBITIONS :-O … This becomes your first domino. Knock this down first, then you can keep growing until you reach a billion dollars.
For most people, this is actually a pretty damn good level to be at, even if you just want to stay there forever.
Whether you want to keep growing or just stay there, $150k is a great level to aim for.
I know what you’re thinking …
BUT HOW???
“How am I going to build it to $150k+ revenue,
when I’m just trying to survive right now?”
First step … calm down. Don’t panic. This is totally doable, but not if you’re freaking out. I don’t work with people who freak out.
Remember, business goals are like physical fitness goals. Train yourself to do the right things enough times and you get what you’re aiming for.
Business is just a skill that you train to do, just like anything else. This is totally doable. You’ve got this.
What are the right things to do?
That’s a big question. Too big for this article. But let’s start at the beginning.
Revenue is just Sesame Street level math. No problem …
Revenue = Price x Volume (That’s it)
1) What price are you selling your product/program for?
2) How many of those do you have to sell each year to hit $150k?
OPTION A – Skimming The Surface
$25 ebook
Why? Because you read somewhere that a book gives you credibility, and since you’re not yet the world’s absolute most amazing expert, this helps. And someone else said that you should start people with an easy low cost first step. Sounds logical (at first).
So, all you have to do is sell $150,000/$25 = 6,000 ebooks/year
And since typical list conversion rates are approximately 1%, all you need is a list size of approximately 600,000 people, give or take a few.
No problem. You have a list of 600,000, right? No? What are you doing with your time? Get those lead magnets out there!
Ok, plan B …
OPTION B – Going Deep
$5,000 Private Coaching
for Highly Committed Clients
This time, you are going super vertical and super deep with a few cherry-picked highly committed clients who really want your help right now, are willing to do the work and invest highly to work with you. Instead of skimming over the top of thousands, you are transforming the lives of a few people and loving it. Not a bad gig.
At $5,000 per client, all you need is 30 clients per year! 🙂
That’s not 30 at a time … Let me make that simpler for you …
If you open up your private coaching just 3 times per year, for a 90 day program, that’s just 10 private clients at a time, with 3 months OFF in between for travel! 😀
(10 clients x $5k) x 3 times per year = $150k + travel time! 😀
Now what do you think?
Is this a lot more doable? (Yes. It is.)
But wait! There’s more …
OPTION C – The Deep Blend
$5k Private AND $3k Group Coaching
For Highly Committed Clients
30 is a lot of private clients, even if it’s just 10 at a time. Doable, but let’s simplify some more.
Let’s do a blend of private AND group coaching.
Group coaching lets us serve more people with less time and effort, while giving them the higher value inherent in the support and motivation of working with peers trying to do the same thing. Very powerful.
Let’s assume that for every $5k private client, you enroll 4 into a $3k group program.
After number crunching on a super computer for 3.3 months, the net results are:
9 Private + 36 Group Clients = 45 Clients Total for the year
(actually 44.12, but I like them fully committed)
If you open up your program 3 times per year, like before, that means:
Can you handle 3 clients + 1 group at a time? … You bet!(3 Private + 12 Group Clients) x 3 times per year = $150kAnd you get a month off for travel in between each one. 😀 |
Do you like that?
Yes!
So, HOW do you get those amazing Highly Committed Premium Clients that let you achieve $150k+? …
FREE MASTERCLASS5 Key Steps To Filling Your Health Coaching Business
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Let’s do this!
Mark Lengies, MBA
Chief Transformation Officer
Business Strategy for Ambitious HealthPreneurs
www.discovergrowth.com/masterclass