What You Need to Breakthrough to the Next Revenue Level in Your Passion-Based Business

You’re a passion-based entrepreneur, which means you’ve created a business you love, that feeds your soul, fuels your passion, and gives life to your purpose.

And for that business to be viable – to *really* make a difference – it – and you – needs to be profitable. What most entrepreneurs don’t understand is that there are revenue plateaus. You reach a certain level. You stay at that level.

At any level you can’t keep doing the same things you’ve been doing and expect to double your sales results. There are only so many hours in the day.

Here are some of the revenue levels, as well as their breakthrough points, that I’ve worked my own business and my clients through.

$25,000 Breakthrough – You are at a choice point. Is this a hobby or a business? You have to choose to truly be in business. Which means it’s time to attract more clients. Decide that you do want more clients and are willing to put yourself out there to increase your visibility through a website, blog, writing and speaking. Then, you claim your clients and step into the next level.

$50,000 Breakthrough – Not only do you have a breakthrough to work beyond, but you are also at a choicepoint. To break through this level, you have to decide that, in fact, you are not just in business as a coach, consultant, speaker, author or whatever your service is, but that you are a business OWNER. There is a mind shift that happens when you decide to be a business owner delivering your particular services. You stop running your business haphazardly. You make different decisions. You market your business at a new, deeper, committed level. You also have to trust that you can still enjoy your business, even as it grows into a “real” business.

$100,000 Breakthrough – This is a big one for many business owners – it’s that place where you know you are a business owner (see the previous breakthrough), and seems to be the point at which you really feel legitimate – breaking through six figures. This means that you have to move from delivering your services hourly to creating and offering packages of your services.

You shift how you spend your time. You apply more of your creativity to marketing - building your visibility and credibility within your tribe. To shift into six figures, you need to start hiring more team members so that they can take care of your behind-the-scenes to-do’s, and you can be out there developing relationships, creating new programs and content, and delivering your services.

Here is where you realize that systems = freedom. Implementing systems, procedures, and checklists for your team will make things go more smoothly, which is where you get to be free to create, attract, and connect. Here you have to let go of those things *you* can do but that aren’t your genius. Having other team members do what’s important (and doesn’t need you personally doing it) is what will move your business forward.

$250,000 Breakthrough – First of all, at this level and beyond, self-care becomes non-negotiable. Your business won’t grow if you aren’t taking care of yourself and you are stressed and tired. To grow your business bigger--reach more people, have more clients go through your programs, launch bigger programs--you have to do things differently. There aren’t more hours in the day to expand your business – it’s about doing things more efficiently and effectively. It’s also about letting go of control so that you can let your business grow. Any money issues or limited beliefs about how much you can charge, how much money you can make, or how having more success will change your life or impact your family need to be shifted into supportive and empowering beliefs. This is a time for strong, clear boundaries to protect your creative time and your life enjoyment time. To more than double your income at this l evel, you’ll need to reexamine your systems, teams, pricing, packages and your time to see what needs to change, shift or be let go of so you can reach more people, attract more visibility and make more money.

What’s interesting about these breakthroughs is that it’s not necessarily about creating more products, programs, or services, although that’s certainly part of it. It’s really more about the limiting beliefs you have to change and the mind shifts you have to work through.

What do you need to break through in order to get to your next desired revenue level?

En-joy

Laura 

If you would like to use this article in your newsletter or blog please feel free to do as long as you include our credit information: Written by Laura Howard West, Center for Joyful Business, http:/www.joyfulbusiness.com I would also appreciate it if you'd send us a copy for our media files. ©Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.

Laura West is an award-winning online entrepreneur and president of The Center for Joyful Business. If you are ready to shift your marketing and mindset for more success with joy and ease, get your free report: Business Attraction Success Kit

What's playing in the Joyful Business studio office?

One of my own intentions I have on an Intention Alive card (part of the Joyful Business Guide system) is  "I love creating in my studio office!"  Since we moved into a new home this summer and now I have my own private space...I've set my intention that my office is creative, comfortable, spacious, light, delightfully professional, organized (this is a stretch), supports success and is inspiring!  Just changing the name from my home office to "my studio office" gives it some creative energy and pronounces it as a different kind of space.  I am collecting ideas, pictures, words, paint chips...I'm in the early process of gathering what it will look like when I dive in.

So...on this Friday night - I'm checking in with some of my favorite bloggers...new postings over at Escape from Cubicle Nation (Pam is 4 days away from child #3 so we may not hear from her for a while), Journal Revolution (talk about studio office material!), and of course, Beverly over at Embrace Your Gifts and Soar (how do you keep having so much fun in your office?!)!

While I'm roaming and reading on the net...what's playing in the Joyful Business Studio Office? (that's a mouthful - may have to work with it...any suggestions):

Rob Dickinson  Check out Rob's MySpace site and you can listen to 3 of my favorites off his latest album, Fresh Wine for Horses:  My Name is Love, Oceans, Intelligent People.  Rob used to be with The Catherine Wheel(which meant nothing to me, but my music lover of a husband is a fan). Anyway, hubby found out that this fellow Brit was playing last Friday night at a local restaurant down in town Atlanta.  He got creative and somehow we ended up going out to dinner for MY birthday to this restaurant so we could see/hear him sing. (sort of a backward present) Turned out I loved his guitar playing and passionate lyrics and vocals...

I just have to share another bit of music playing in my studio office, (and basement)..which is by my husband Marc.  He's a management consultant by day and groovy cellar musician by night!  Check out his latest song Desire on his My Space space.

Enjoy....

Laura

Christine Kane's 21 Steps to Being More Creative

I'm often asked what are MY favorite blogs...I'll share one of them by singer, song-writer, teacher, speaker, Christine Kane. She blogs about her road trips as a musician, observations of life, creativity and living life fully.  She is just an all around cool women entrepreneur!  You can check out her website at www.ChristineKane.com. 

Here is a sampling of how she puts her talents to work....from Christine's bio....

"Her popular college-circuit lecture, “Getting a Job is Boring. Get a Life Instead,” draws on her own experiences as an independent musician, and gives grounded career advice to college seniors. Christine was contracted by the Federal Government to teach creativity as part of its bi-monthly 2007 Leadership Assessment Program, an intensive retreat for government leaders."

That inspires me already!

I'll share one of my favorite blog entries from her. It's about 21 Steps to Being More Creative...by Christine Kane:

Creativity isn’t a big deal. It’s like our breath. It’s just a part of who we are. Some of us don’t realize this. People who say, “Oh, I’m not creative,” or “I don’t have a creative bone in my body,” sound to me like they’re trying to convince themselves of something, rather than telling themselves the truth. They make the idea of creativity a BIG DEAL because then it will stay safely at arm’s length out of reach and require nothing of them.

Again, creativity isn’t a big deal. It’s not an event. It doesn’t so much happen, as it is allowed. It comes out slowly.

When I found my dog, she had been badly abused. I was walking in the countryside, and she was watching me from a mound of dirt in an old church yard where she had been dumped. She started to follow me. If I turned around, she’d stop. If I tried to walk towards her, she’d tuck her tail under her butt and walk away from me. But if I moved along on my own way, she’d follow me. She eventually got closer and closer, and ultimately she followed me home.

This is how I experience creativity. Anytime I try to turn around and catch it, it turns away. It’s not about willing it. It rarely takes to announcements like, “Today I’m going to be creative! I’m going to write a whole song!”

In my experience, it’s a process. It is slow. Creativity is a way of being, and though it can’t be forced, it can be cultivated and allowed. It happens when I’m already open and my mind is receptive and quiet. There’s almost a joyful laziness to it. Kind of a “Hmm, well, what if I tried this OĶ?”

There is definitely a happiness to it. A deep happiness and peace. My theory is that when we cling to our vices, when we do unhealthy things that we adamantly say we deserve, what we’re really trying to do is give ourselves what we keep denying ourselves - a fully creative and artful life. Once we start allowing more creativity in, we might find some of those old habits and “vices” just fall away. After all, they are not a substitute for the real thing.

So, if you’re opening up to a more artful and creative life, know that it’s not something to push. It’s something to allow and live. Here are 21 Ways to be more creative, and subsequently, more happy!

1 - Stop watching television

Or better yet, get rid of the damn thing. Any time I teach writing or creativity, this is one of the biggies. TV is a mind-killer. It numbs you. It fills you with emotionally-charged images and over-simplified solutions. It dulls you. Turn it off. Even if this idea scares you, turn it off.

2 - Take a 20-minute walk everyday

It’s easy to become driven about exercise. You go to the Y. You go running. You think that a 20-minute walk isn’t productive or worth much. Take a 20-minute walk and allow the world to just be. Watch things. Stop and smell things. Notice birds. Let the world unfold and show itself to you.

3 - Write with pen & paper (or pencil and paper)

Keep a journal. Do morning pages. Write in long-hand. Typing on a keypad into a computer doesn’t always open up that tactile sense-loving part of us that loves to create.

I can sometimes get weirdly happy just hearing the sound the pen makes scribbling on paper. I also love it when the paper is thin, and my pen makes indents so it feels sort of Braille-y, and the paper makes a snappy sound when I turn the page.

4 - Write songs to your pets

At the first women’s retreat I ever facilitated, (at a college campus in St. Louis) a group of women sat on the floor one night in the dorm and sang each other the songs we’d written to our various pets. It was hysterical. The more we sat there, the more women came and sat down with us.

I’ve written many songs to my dog. Greatest hits include “Mom’s Little Girl,” “She Is Going to Be a Very Clean Girl,” (a bathtub song) and “She is Unbelievably Cute.” Of course, there’s also the “Good Morning Song.” My cats each have their own songs too. I actually make myself laugh as I’m creating them because my animals look so truly unimpressed with me.

It’s easy to do because you can do it anywhere - while you drive to work, while you make dinner, while you lie on the couch with them.

More tips:  Read Christine's blog entry for the rest of the 21 Tips

Be sure to support Christine's success and buy her newest CD!

En-JOY!

Laura

Passion, Juggling, Beatles

Go ahead and click on this video below...allow yourself to sit back and watch the whole thing.  Indulge....

Chris Bliss

Now, I don't know if this guy makes a lot of money at this, or if he rates his life as a 10 but gosh, he sure does seem passionate and alive!  He sure does seem like he must love what he does. 

I'm imagining him thinking about this idea, and then actually learning how, practicing, failure, trying again.....talk about a commitment!

I bet when he shares with some people what he does they think he's crazy....he sure made me (and my family) smile....

With a smiling heart,

Laura

delightful music

Just downloaded a new CD from iTunes from Jack Johnson - I'm so loving it! 

What perfectly delightful music to play for a Friday afternoon of creating!http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0007GAEVW/ref=pd_kar_1/002-3923508-6560043

Enjoying sharing delight,

Laura

Would you see "the movie of YOUR life?"

What if you went to the movie theatre and realized they were playing the movie of YOUR life?  Would you go see it? Would you give it a high rating? Would you want your money back? Which Hollywood star would be playing you?  Would it be a drama, romance or action thriller? Would you invite your friends to join you at the premiere?

There's no time like the present to create the movie you'd like to see!What would you like to change in your life? You are creating your movie right here, right now, each and every day....

Check out the song "Movie of Your Life" by Spencer Day. A fabulously rich, playful jazz song which asks these very questions.  I'm loving playing this while I work...it makes me think about the legacy of my actions of what I'm doing right now, today.

The Movie of Your Life - performed by Spencer Day

Thanks to Antonia Russo, a wonderfully creative Image Consultant in our Entrepreneur Succcess Program for Image Consultants. She raved about Spencer and music!

Enjoy!

Laura

Free Music

I’m loving www.limewire.com

If you like music you can find lots of free downloads – just get the free version.  I finally got a copy of  “Under the Milky Way” by the Church, a favorite from my college days in the 80’s!  I also downloaded a bunch of U2 favorites.  If you haven't heard "Electric Storm" - it's amazing!  Not one of their more popular ones but it's really great!