What Successful Entrepreneurs Do Weekly To Increase Profits

By Hilary DeCesare — Written on Sep 26, 2020

Photo: getty

What is the secret of successful entrepreneurs?

If you're starting out on a business venture, you may be wondering about this.

"How can I increase my profits?" is a question I hear all the time — dare I say, every week — in my 20-plus years in the coaching business. Both from private clients at the helm of multi-million-dollar businesses and fresh-faced entrepreneurs just starting out.

Entrepreneurs who are primarily concerned with profits fall into one of three categories.

Their company is stalling out.
Their company is not growing at the pace they want it to.
They have a newer business or are just starting their business and aren’t sure of what they should be focused on or where to start.

Any of this sound familiar?

Many entrepreneurs feel this way lately, especially with all of the curve balls 2020 keeps throwing.

However, it’s always a good time for a relaunch in your business, relationships, and lifestyle, especially when it has to do with owning and running a successful business.

The first thing entrepreneurs should do is get clear about where you're at.

Are you...

Just starting a business or company?
Have an existing business or company?

The reason why I think it’s important to get clear as to where you're at currently is because some people with side-hustles or hobbies think they have a business when all they really have right now is a talent and zone of genius.

They haven't yet built a solid foundation — a team, systems, mission, customer journey, budget — or any of the many foundational elements in which an actual business needs to operate.

Therefore, in order to make a profit, no matter which of the two you fall into, the following will help you pull back to get a 360-degree look at where you are at, as well as what you need to focus on.

Are you business savvy or business smart?

If you’re like most people, you want to be both business savvy and business smart — and you can be. But most entrepreneurs are inclined to want to jump into their business and do, do, do!

It’s easy to think that by constantly doing, you’ll eventually find success and, ultimately, profits. But there has to be a point you work on our business, not just in your business by constantly doing.

That’s what successful entrepreneurs and leaders do. That’s what profitable companies and businesses do. And that's the missing piece I see most.

So, what’s the difference between business savvy and business smart?

When you're business savvy, you love or are great at what you do.

And although you’re really good at that "one thing," you still haven’t identified the business or how you’re going to not only turn your gift into profits, but ultimately a sustainable business that's set up for lasting success.

If you're business smart, you not only have dialed into your zone of genius, but you also have and continue to work on building a solid foundation for your business.

You know the importance of building a life cycle for your target avatar, marketing, lead gen, have a well-defined mission and vision, budget, setting and meeting KPIs, ROIs, developing a team, putting systems to work in place, and carving your niche in the market.

You're set up for success, no matter what you face.

Schedule time weekly.

It’s important to pull back from the endless to-dos and tactical items and look at everything on a whole, so you can be the visionary you need to be to own a business.

Do this weekly to ensure you’re getting a clear picture and setting your actions and strategies, based on the current snapshot.

By calendaring time every Monday and Thursday, you’ll be able to time-block and create the space needed to dedicate to brainstorming, pivoting, future visions, and anything else high level that you need to work on.

Use Evernote, Google Docs, MindMeister, or whatever notetaking system or software you prefer, but make sure it’s something you can easily pull up to write and track notes, ideas, and see your current 90-day (quarterly) plan, as well as past notes and plans.