5 Ways To Revolutionize Your Business

If your business has seemed pretty stagnant lately, or just “meh”, then the time may be here for you to shake things up, my friend!

It’s easy to put systems in place and keep them there because they “work”.

Sure, things might be working. But to see the growth you want you will likely need to experiment a little. Businesses are a dynamic thing, and so are you!

Even making small changes can breathe new life into your business, and the ripple effect can improve it in unexpected ways.

I’ve put together a list of 5 ways to revolutionize your business and make it the most incredible it’s ever been!

1. Implement the Profit First Formula

In most businesses, the standard formula is that your profit is what you’re left with after you subtract your expenses from the sales you made.

Mike Michalowicz has turned this formula on its head with his Profit First Formula.

The purpose of every business is to generate profit, so his formula gives profit the focus it should have.

Instead of Sales – Expenses = Profit, the formula to follow is Sales – Profit = Expenses! (That’s overly simplistic but you get the idea).

The point is to set aside a percentage of your revenue for profit, and then make your expenses fit whatever is left.

Applying this formula is mainly psychological. Instead of passively viewing your expenses as “just one of those things”, remember that business expenses can often be delayed, reduced, or even eliminated.

You can find information about the ins and outs of this formula (he literally wrote the book on it) on Mike Michalowicz’s blog.

2. Develop Your Brand Story

To get people to care about your business, it is critical that they genuinely care about you – especially in the online space!

Recently, I was lucky enough to run into brand expert Jennifer Kem at the Archangel Blueprint 2.0 workshop in Toronto.

She is just an absolutely amazing person and has an uncanny ability to smell opportunity. Jen can literally sniff out the money opportunities in any business.

After meeting her in Toronto I took part in her 7-day brand story challenge on Facebook. Game-changer!

I got so much great feedback from my circle about my story and what resonated with them. It helped me dial into the message I am trying to get across to the world.

Your story is worth sharing.

Often people get into this competition with their peers on social media where they compete for who has the most incredible phoenix-rising-from-the-ashes type story and feel “less than” when their own story doesn’t measure up.   

If that’s not you, you might one of the many amazing business owners who tell themselves “My story isn’t very good. It’s really not worth telling!”.

I get that, and I felt the same way! But people want to get to know you! They want to celebrate you and your story.

We crave that connection.

Check these comments out:

This challenge is one of the most uplifting things I’ve done lately, and I can’t recommend it enough!

3. Get Support!

Sometimes it can seem like you are all alone out there when you’re a business owner. Like you have no one who truly gets your struggles.

I highly recommend joining a group or mastermind with small business owners like yourself. A quick Google search should bring up some local ones in your ‘hood or just create your own.

Having a hard time carving out time to work on things for your own business? Try an accountability partner or look into using Focusmate to help you keep those commitments to yourself!

4. Self Care

Everyone’s heard it said that you can’t truly take care of others if you don’t take care of yourself.

This is true in business, just as it is in your personal life!

Hands up if you’ve ever found yourself eating meals at your desk or skipping them entirely.

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Hands up again if you’ve ever put off a massage, hair appointment, pedicure, workout, meditation, coffee date, a ‘date’ date, sleep, or a day off just to get a project done or get ahead of your workload.

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And finally hands up if you’ve ever looked at the results of your work during times like this and found it to be mediocre, full of errors, or that it took you twice as long as normal.

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Been there. Often.

Whether it comes from wanting to prove myself capable, not wanting to let anyone down, or craving that feeling of accomplishment and victory, I have often found it hard to keep self-care items on my calendar.

Which is a major problem.

Taking time out for self-care helps to relieve stress, and restore cognitive function. It not only improves your state of mind on a day-to-day basis, but you’ll find that the quality of your work will be better.

Self-care looks different for everyone, but in general we’re talking about:

• Getting enough sleep. Different people have different requirements, but a good rule of thumb for most people is about 8 hours a day.

• Eating a healthy diet. Everyone and their mother has their own ideas of what a “healthy diet” entails but they all tend to advise staying away from overly processed foods, caffeine, sugar, and fried foods.

• Staying hydrated. Aim for at least 8-10 cups of water per day.

• Meditation/Deep Breathing. Meditation can be tricky for those people who have trouble shutting their mind off. Start with this simple exercise if you’re stressed: Inhale for three counts and exhale for four. Or grab yourself a meditation app like Calm or Headspace, or subscribe to one of the many, many meditation channels on YouTube.

• Exercise. Absolute bare minimum here would be to get in 30 minutes of moderate activity 3 days per week.

• Take breaks. Take short frequent breaks to get your blood circulation and joints moving.

• Build deep connections with your personal network. Life should not be all work and no play. Ensure that you’re getting in quality time with your loved ones; even if you have to schedule it on your calendar.

• Stay on top of your health. If you have any health conditions, it’s important that you’re doing all you can to manage them. If you’re not feeling right, the rest of your self-care efforts won’t be effective.

• Learn to say “no”. If you find that you’re saying “Yes, I’ll take care of that” to everything people ask of you (even though you’ve already got a full plate), you might want to teach yourself how to politely decline more often. Another solution (and is often even better) is delegate tasks, or suggest someone who can take it on.

5. Get Yourself Out There!

Networking can seem like a dirty word because often there’s this mental image of some smarmy, desperate person whose sole purpose is to sell you something. Networking can feel sleazy.

But if you approach networking with an attitude of “What can I do to serve others?” instead of “How am I landing my next client?”, the whole concept will feel way better.

When I go to an event, I try to connect with 3 people. I don’t mean just giving them my business card and saying #byefelicia – I mean really connecting with these 3 people.

You can do the same by asking smart questions about the people you’re meeting and their business.

What goals do they have?

Where are they at in their business right now?

What’s their biggest struggle currently?

The most important thing here is to listen.

If something comes up in conversation that I can help with, I help them. If not, I may refer them to someone I know who can help or I might look into their struggle and send a quick email with a solution later. People appreciate this so much and it will set you apart.

What about you?

Do you have any tips that made a huge difference in your business? Did I miss anything? Got a story to tell me? Tell me about it in the comments below!