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Do Not Quit. You Are Closer Than You Think
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If you’re ready to start moving in the right direction and become amazing at getting things accomplished then let me explain this concept to you. It might sound simple but take the time to actually think about it. Let it sink in. I believe this concept needs to be understood by every business person out there.
I often get asked how I managed to grow my business and Wordsmith Membership so quickly and I can say that it had to do with a lot of things. One of them is reading a lot. I’ve never been able to get lost in storybooks, but hand me a book on business and I can’t put it down. I soak it up like a sponge and then piece it together to make it fit my life, my business, and the way I run my business. Something about business fascinates me, and I love reading how things work, how ideas succeed, how they fail. I love reading stories about others that built a business empire out of a simple dream.
The 80/20 Principle
I remember reading about something called the 80/20 principle. It’s actually a really simple concept, but to me, it was absolutely mind-blowing. For the past few years, I have applied this 80/20 principle to running my own business and it has helped me in so many ways. It helps me make decisions quickly and always reminds me of the big picture.
Most people believe that when you put hard work in, you get the same return. If you put 50% of hard work, you’ll get 50% in results. The problem with that concept is that it usually doesn’t actually work out like that. People that have this mindset all too often spend time on the wrong things and move forward a lot slower than those who understand the concept of the 80/20 principle.
The 80-20 rule will teach you to focus on what’s really important in your life and your business. You can apply it to almost every aspect of your life and business and below I’ll list a few ways photographers can think about the concept.
The 80-20 rule states that 20% of inputs create 80% of the outputs and that 20% of the effort leads to 80% of the results.
Here are some examples in business when it comes to the 80/20 principle.
CLIENTS & BUSINESS
80% OF BUSINESS COMES FROM 20% OF YOUR CLIENTS/CUSTOMERS
Figure out who your top 20% clients/customers are!
80% OF YOUR NEW CLIENTS/CUSTOMERS ARE REFERRED OVER BY 20% OF YOUR CURRENT CLIENTS/CUSTOMERS
Who are your top 20%? They bring in over 80% of your NEW clientele/customers!
80% OF CLIENTS/CUSTOMERS COME FROM 20% OF THE BUSINESS REACH
What is your top 20% business outreach strategy? It is bringing you 80% of your clients/customers!
80% OF COMPLAINTS COMES FROM 20% OF YOUR CLIENTS/CUSTOMERS
Unhappy clients are hard situations to deal with but realize that it’s only 20%. (Although in the moment it might feel like 80%)
SALES & SESSIONS
80% OF SALES ARE GENERATED BY 20% OF YOUR CLIENTS/CUSTOMERS
This is KEY – Who are your most loyal clients/customers? They generate 80% of your sales!
80% OF PRODUCT SALES COME FROM 20% OF YOUR PRODUCTS
What are your BEST sellers? Those items account for 80% of product sales!
80% OF REVENUE COMES FROM 20% OF YOUR CLIENTS/CUSTOMERS
Again – Who are your BEST clients/customers? They account for 80% of your entire business revenue!
TIME MANAGEMENT & OFFICE WORK
80% OF BUSINESS IS DONE IN 20% OF THE TIME (YEAR, MONTH, WEEK OR DAY)
Know when your busy season is and make sure work extra hard during that time – it brings you 80% of your business!
80% OF RESULTS ARE ACHIEVED BECAUSE OF 20% OF THE TASKS
KNOW what your important tasks are – 80% of results come from those tasks alone! Don’t waste so much time on the little things.
80% OF EMAILS ASK 20% OF THE QUESTIONS
Do you get a lot of repeat emails from a lot of people? Save yourself time by creating email templates. 80% of ALL your emails are looking for the same information!
80% OF YOUR TABS OPEN IS 20% OF WHAT YOU SHOULD BE DOING
How many search browser tabs do you have open right now? 80% of them are unnecessary!
SOCIAL MEDIA & BLOGGING
80% OF YOUR INTERACTION COMES FROM 20% OF YOUR FOLLOWERS
Who are your most AWESOME fans? They make up 80% of all your interactions!
80% OF YOUR TRAFFIC COMES FROM 20% OF YOUR KEYWORDS
Know what your TOP keywords are – they bring in 80% of all your traffic!
80% OF SOCIAL SHARES COME FROM 20% OF THE SOCIAL UPDATES
What posts get the most shares and attention? They get you 80% of all shares!
MARKETING & ADVERTISING
80% OF SALES COME FROM 20% OF YOUR ADVERTISING
What advertising method works best for your business? It brings in 80% in sales!
80% OF BOOKINGS COME FROM 20% OF YOUR MARKETING
What marketing method works best? It brings in 80% of your bookings!
Hope you enjoyed this post! And always remember the most important rule of all:
80% OF SUCCESS IS SHOWING UP
If you’re ready to start focusing on the right things, it starts by figuring out what your 20% is first. Once you know what that is, you’ll be able to focus on the pieces that move your business (or life) in the right direction. The best thing about the 80/20 principle is that you can apply it to literally anything in life and business. Looking to learn a little more about this? There’s a ton of books on it, but I highly recommend reading The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less by Richard Koch.
Ready for more? Join my newsletter and be the first to know about new articles published on the blog, business tips, and of course, all the best strategies and free resources. There’s a reason this list is 70,000 strong!
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Many business owners out there struggle with feeling guilty about charging what they’re worth. More than likely, you know the feeling of having to put a price on your service, art, and time, or skill. Wanting to charge what you’re worth but fear that others won’t see the value behind what you do.
The struggle between wanting to build a strong business with an income you can live on and deserve, doing what you love while at the same time wanting to give your clients everything they want for next to nothing because you love what you do.
Here’s what makes it hard: Most likely, you got started pursuing your passions not because of the money but because you love what you do. The truth is that many business owners out there are valuing their client’s feelings over their own business goals.
If you calculate how much you need to charge to reach your income goals, that number you might end up coming up with might very likely be out of someone’s budget. It might even be out of many people’s budget. That number might be higher than you feel comfortable with at the moment, and the idea of someone paying those higher prices for your services might be terrifying for you.
The goal of this post isn’t here to tell you that you need to raise your prices; raising prices is easy. It’s something I had to learn with my own business, and something I hope to pass on to others who might be struggling with charging what they are worth.
I WANT YOU TO REALIZE ONE THING;
YOU ARE WORTH
EVERY PENNY.
Stop being scared of charging what you are worth and calculate your numbers like a business. You put so much heart into your business so when you sit there calculating how much you need to charge, use your head and a calculator. Put your heart aside just for a little while, so the numbers behind getting your business to become sustainable long term are in your future.
Stop overthinking pricing and putting other people’s feelings above what you are worth.
I can promise you this; by Charging what you are worth you will;
COME ACROSS PEOPLE WHO CAN NOT AFFORD THOSE PRICES.
And that is ok! What someone else can afford doesn’t have anything to do with your worth. You might even find people who think you are worth every single penny, but you still won’t fall into their budget. Accept that not everyone will be able to book with you.
YOU WILL COME ACROSS PEOPLE WHO SAVE UP TO FINALLY INVEST IN YOUR BUSINESS
Because the investment is worth it to them. Working with people who believe you are worth it is one of the best feelings you’ll have as a small business owner.
YOU WILL FIND PEOPLE WHO THINK YOU ARE CRAZY FOR CHARGING THOSE PRICES.
You might even make a few jaws hit the ground. Be proud of your pricing!
YOU WILL FIND PEOPLE COMPARE YOU TO OTHERS BASED ON PRICES ALONE.
And you’ll have no problem wishing them good luck if they would rather work with someone else simply because they have lower prices because you know deep inside that there’s a reason they reached out to you. That they contacted you because they see the quality in what you offer.
YOU WILL START TO MANAGE YOUR TIME BETTER.
You’ll quickly see what things waste your time and the things that are worth pursuing. Knowing how to manage your time correctly will also help others not take advantage of that good heart you have. I get that when you pursue the thing you are most passionate about, it’s hard to make that a business. To separate wanting to do it all the time for free, for everyone. And finally, turn it into a business where you are spending valuable time doing something you love while also bringing an in income that you can depend on and deserve.
The beautiful thing about charging what you’re worth and shifting your mindset to realize that you are worth it is that you’ll instantly see your business transform and find those dream clients and customers more often.
When you work with people who don’t question your worth and genuinely understand the amount of work you put into your craft, it validates what you knew all along;
YOU ARE WORTH IT.
It’s time to stop feeling guilty about charging what you’re worth.
Ready for more? Join my newsletter and be the first to know about new articles published on the blog, business tips, and of course, all the best strategies and free resources. There’s a reason this list is 70,000 strong!
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I'm Elena, your
new
CEO friend.
Multi-passionate, CEO of multiple companies, mama of four, obsessed with all things business and marketing, ready to help you attract your ideal client and customer. My goal is to give you the strategies and tools to grow your business so you can save time, get real results and focus on what matters most.
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