When I started my first business, I said, “Yes”. A lot.

“Will I drive six hours to install your computer mouse? No problem.”

“Would I give you a fifty percent discount and a 120 net? Absolutely.”

“Could I service your ancient computer system, even though I know nothing about it and will have to spend two days reading the twelve-inch thick manual…that’s written in German? Sure! Why not?”

My waking hours were working hours. My company grew. And no matter how big it got, we still weren’t making a profit.

After two years in business, I hit a wall. I was a burned-out, unhealthy mess. So was my partner, Chris. I kept telling myself that there had to be a sweet spot -that place where business shifts.

But it wasn’t happening.

Until I met Frank. He ultimately became a coach and mentor, and I am forever grateful to him for what he taught me, so I can teach you. (Besides, Frank had a boatload of cash. Legit. Liquid. Assets.)

Now, there’s a real light bulb moment that happened when Frank said something too inappropriate to mention here. However, there were many more “eureka” moments that I can share with you.

Finding that sweet spot in your business.

First, fire some clients.
First, Frank told me to fire clients. What? How in the heck would that help? If anything, I wanted more clients, not less. But, it made sense when Frank said that by cutting my client list and getting rid of ho-hum clients, I could focus on the best clients. So I got to work dividing my client list between two categories: great clients, and everyone else.

This felt too risky. Too abstract. Too, well, many fewer dollars. Then one day in October I was in a pumpkin patch with my family and we came across a farmer who had a winning pumpkin. We’re talking Godzilla-sized, here. Next to this giant pumpkin was an article outlining the pumpkin-growing process. I’m going to share it here so you can draw the parallels that knocked the wind out of me:

1. Plant promising seeds.
2. Water, water, water.
3. As they grow, remove damaged pumpkins.
4. Weed like crazy. Nothing but pumpkin leaves and pumpkins.
5. When they grow, identify the biggest, strongest, and fastest growing and then get rid of the rest. Repeat.
6. Focus on the big pumpkins. Nurture them. Guard them.
7. Watch it grow – and be amazed at how fast that growth is.

Wait. Had I just learned the secret to big-time entrepreneurial growth from a farmer? These guys are even smarter than I thought.

Let’s put this into a business context:
1. Identity and leverage your biggest and natural strengths
2. Sell.
3. Never let distractions, even when labeled, “new opportunities”, take hold. Weed those out.
4. Identify your top clients, and yes, remove the less promising clients.
5. Focus all of your attention on your top clients. Nurture, protect, find out what they need and want more of – and then replicate the same service or product for as many of the same clients as possible.

Time to make a change.
What got you here, won’t get you there.
The fear-driven strategy that got me my million-dollar business wasn’t going to get me to millions in gross revenue. Saying yes to everyone is a drain on your precious resources of time and money.

Once you move past the early years of entrepreneurship, success isn’t a quantities game anymore.

So, let’s work on a starter action plan for you.

First, find your why. If your dream is to get rich, that’s not enough. Remind yourself why you started your business. What gets you excited? What purpose do you want to serve? If you know that, it will resonate with your best clients.
Remember your immutable laws. When thinking about your why, remember that your values are intrinsically intertwined with that. Your values are your laws, and don’t extinguish them.

Now, set a revenue pulse goal for the year. How much revenue do you need to generate to get the heart of your business beating?
Ask better questions. Rather than wonder why you struggle, wonder how you can take say, two thousand dollars home every day. This way you focus on the answer and not the problem.

Here’s a graphic for all of you visual folks, too!
SweetSpot_R2

The next few articles are going to build on this one, further exploring how The Pumpkin Plan method will help you scale your business without sacrificing so much of yourself – and create profitability while serving your clients better. Stay tuned!

Wishing you huge success.
-Mike

PS – Join us for the Scale Your Business Coaching Business to New Heights: More Income, Impact and Time Freedom, a virtual, complimentary masterclass led by Donna Leyens and myself. We’re poised to equip you with actionable strategies to elevate and expand your business. It starts May 8th. Save your seat now!