It’s something that often gets eyes popping but one of my favorite things to do is help business owners work less while making more. Here are 9 ways you can do it too:
1. Use Virtual Assistants
Although they’re publicised a lot I still meet business owners who have never heard of a Virtual Assistant. They are an on demand worker you hire to do work remotely so that you don’t have to. Like having your own personal assistant but working via the internet hence the name Virtual Assistant.
These can be local in your country – or offshore which often comes with advantageous pricing! Not only can they free up your time for tasks that are more profitable, or so you can have more free time, they can also become a profit centre by helping with Marketing or Business Development.
2. Increase Your Prices
While freaking owners out almost 100% of the time this is hands down one of the easiest way to work less and make more. Even better is this little known fact:
Increasing Prices ≠ Decreasing Sales
When you change your prices one of 3 things will happen, sales will go down (yes, it does happen), sales will go up (yes this often happens), or sales will remain the same (also often happens!).
Until you change your prices you won’t know, and if you want to increase your chances of success with the change make sure you know your market, your competitors and why your clients choose you.
3. Don’t Charge by the Hour
When you charge by the hour you instantly lock yourself to this formula:
Hours Worked x Rate = Income
Obviously there are tricks to get around this (see #4) but the more you make your income not dependant on your time, the more upside potential you have.
I’ve even seen Lawyers do this, charge a monthly package, rather than an hourly rate, don’t claim it can’t be done in your business, ask “how could it be done?”.
4. Hire Employees / Contractors
One way to unlock your income from your hours worked is to have other people work in your business. Whether this is employees or contractors it allows you to increase your income without increasing the time you have to work, and with great staff you can also start delegating management and even sales, freeing up even more of your time.
5. Systemise
When we start a business it’s often in chaos, we don’t know exactly who we serve, or maybe even exactly how we do it! If we’re smart, flexible and can think fast on our feet it’s easy for this to continue in the long term.
Not having systems makes hiring staff incredibly hard, because you’re limited to hiring people, like you, that can adapt and evolve – and this still means you have limited influence over consistency for your clients.
No systems also means you spend far more time doing things because there is no system to make sure it is simple and straightforward to get tasks done.
Having systems that support you and your business team allow you to deliver a more consistent experience for your clients, while taking less time, thereby enabling you to make more money (and get more referrals – since your clients are happier!).
6. Automate
Do you use automation in your business? Whether it’s having Xero to do your accounts or Ontraport to manage your clients and send emails, do you have automated systems to do work for you so you and your team don’t have to?
Of course this takes time to set up, but once you have: the system does the work for you! Anything that you do right now that is repetitive and time consuming is a candidate for either Outsourcing (#1), Staff (#4) or Automation (#6).
7. Promote a Partner
One of my favorite ways to work less while making more is to promote another business and help them grow. Based on the amount of growth they get I receive a commission for the sales I generate.
This is another strategy that can cause freak out!
This is not a beginner strategy, but it is one of the easiest ways I and my clients make additional income. You need to make sure that you get it right and consider things like:
- Will they look after your clients / connections?
- Does the promotion create a win / win / win (for the clients, your partner and you)
- How will you promote it, do your clients fit into their niche and category (don’t promote something that doesn’t make sense to your connections!)
But when you get it right, it is a golden strategy. One that can have you making thousands simply by sending a few emails or letters.
8. Add Leverage
Do you have Leverage in your business right now? Something that allows you to create good leveraged income?
In an information marketing or coaching business this may be group coaching or a detailed online training program showing people how to create clients and cash using webinars like our Webinar Masterclass program.
For example if you run an accounting firm you can use these same principles by having your clients pay you monthly and receive additional benefits for doing so. You then run group events where you bring in speakers and your monthly clients get to come as a bonus, but you also sell public tickets to the event. Both of these create additional leveraged income, while promoting your business and getting more potential clients in your office.
9. Nexus Income Streams
You can also look to create what I call “Nexus Income Streams”, these are streams of income that have a Nexus (or meeting point) with what you do, but are not your core business.
They are easiest to explain with a story from a client in Australia, she had a training and mentoring business that she ran primarily online using email marketing, video and webinars. In the business she used the email and Customer Relationship Management tool Ontraport that I mentioned earlier.
She had a lot of clients ask her “what do you use to promote and run your business”, and she would tell them. One day she realised “Hold on, I’m recommending this software that I use and I’m sending them business, without receiving any benefit for doing so”.
Of course many people do this, and with some of my recommendations I receive nothing for, but for many of my recommendations I do – and here’s why:
If I’ve tested, measured and found that a tool/service/person is great, and I then promote and market (which takes time, effort and energy), I should be rewarded for my efforts.
In her case this was a simple matter of making sure that her emails told her clients the software she used, and why she recommended it. Also letting people when they ask directly. While this is nothing to do with her core business it does have a connection (a nexus) to her business because her clients keep asking her for it, and best of all: this was very easy to implement, and provides income that is leveraged.
If you enjoyed this post why not join me at a live business training event? Click here to view our upcoming events.
* Disclosure: I also use and recommend Ontraport, and I may receive a commission if you purchase after clicking my recommendation link. If this happens I’ll give you a bonus 45 minute strategy session to help you maximise your profits from using this amazing tool, including powerful techniques like segmentation to increase engagement and sales, lead scoring for boosting profits and exactly how you can maximise your profits from email marketing.
