Episode 80: Growth Series: Accelerating Your Growth - How to Reach 100K-500K Figures in Your Product-Based Business
You have probably realized by now that business as usual won't take you from $100k to $500k. But what are the shifts you can implement in order to get to your first $500k in your business? I'm sharing all of this and more in today's blog...
#1 - Shifting from selling a product to selling a brand.
Branding is why people buy you. Marketing is how people find you. Consumers are looking for an experience, emotion, and feeling. In order to scale, you have to consider what messaging and branding you are developing This is the SOUL of your product, and it will create a community around your product.
If you lean heavily into selling a product, you’ll become a commodity.
#2 - Shift from looking at tactics to looking at the data your company has.
Ask yourself, is this a fluke, or is this momentum that I can sustain without burning myself out? The only way you can avoid burnout is by leaning into the data your brand already has. Look at your price points, margins, repeat customer rate, return on money invested, gross margins, and products that sell the most. This will allow you to determine the next tactic for your business.
People want to grow rapidly, so they invest into paid marketing. However, you’ll notice that many agencies will lean into return on ad spend. For a product-based business, there is so much more that goes into bringing your product to life, so you have to look at return on total money invested.
Many product entrepreneurs don’t know how to integrate their data because they lean heavily on their creative skills, If this sounds like you, you need to find someone who can look at your data. If that’s you, then you need me. Follow the link [SOMEWHERE] to see how my data analysis tools can work for you.
#3 - Shift from “grow grow grow” to growing profitably.
When you Mae your first $100k, the most common thing I hear is that you want to go to $500k in 12 months. This would shift you into hypergrowth, and when you grow so fast, you may not be able to sustain it or understand what is needed to sustain that kind of growth. In my second year of business, I experienced hyper growth. I wasn’t ready for it! I burned through a lot of cash, mental stress, building a team rapidly at the same time as my client growing rapidly, and more. I did this in a way that is not sustainable. That is why I want you to shift to growing profitably.
#4 - Shift into strategic investments for growth.
It’s common for many people to get into the hustle and grind, but there are some things you will not be able to see. True growth cannot come from within yourself. In order to make sustainable leaps, think about the strategic investments for growth that you will need to do. Should you invest in someone who can create a business growth plan, inventory management, or something else? Ask yourself, “What would a strategic CEO do in order to grow this business?” You need someone who can make decisions strategically, someone who can get things done, and someone who can leverage your time. Most people hire doers only, and doers need your brain in order to execute. You also need someone who can think strategically for you, not just assistants who rely on your brain.
#5 - Shift from outsourcing your marketing to bringing it in house.
You are learning the different ways your audiences responds to your messaging. You cannot outsource your own messaging. The product is YOURS. However, your strategic partner is responsible for helping you disseminate the product and give your team the strategy to execute. Once you’ve leaned into in-house marketing and become an expert in that, you can continue to grow.
#6 - Lean into having many constraints in your business.
When it comes to strategy, aka solving a problem, the more you add to your strategy the more hoops and loops you have to jump through. Everything you add will require a new process, additional effort and time, and it will take your focus away from what you currently do. You have to become an expert in each thing you add.
#7 - Shift from noise to signals.
There is a lot of information on every social platform, and it become noise to your market. Your job as a CEO right now, you have to figure out what is customized to your brand. Is this what your customer wants to hear, or is it what your business NEEDS at this moment? Become laser-focused on what is noise and what is a signal, and then put out the signals.
#8 - Shift to systems.
Know that you have a system that matches the demand with the supply. I focus on the demand side, and then I have a colleague who matches your inventory with your marketing plan.
These shifts will create a customized game plan and roadmap to get you where you want to be. Lean into what works for you and your brand. Brands are unique, and it is your job to bring the uniqueness out in your brand.
Looking for support? Let’s chat about how I can support you as a fractional member of your marketing team to create an adoring customer base that generates repeat sales.
