How to create a recurring revenue-fuelled biz

This is what you’ve been waiting for. 

Business is going well. So well in fact, that you can kinda sorta say (without feeling like a total fraud) that you’ve “made it”. 

Work is steadily rolling in without you having to hustle your booty off, you have heaps to do and you don’t even hyperventilate when a new bill arrives. 

Everything you’ve been dreaming of is actually happening and you’re now a self-sufficient, real-life entrepreneur. 

And yet some stuff is happening that you DIDN’T dream of. 

… Like not being able to switch off. 
Even when it’s 1am or date night or the weekend or EVER. 

… And feeling like an outsider in your own family 
who are you again? Nobody can seem to remember.

… And having no idea how you’re going to get all of your work done and make all of your clients happy and is hot in here ‘cos you’re sweating and the room is spinning and –

Business growing pains are REAL, yo. 

And if you don’t deal with them, you’ll slide into the fast lane towards burning out and freaking out. 

So, how can you grow your biz and level up… without destroying your sanity, social life and stress levels?

Well, the first two ideas that come to mind are:

1. Hire designers to help with your workload. (Nope.)
I know from experience that bigger is not always better. My business grew at a rapid rate, so I hired a couple of junior designers to help out. Wanna know what happened? I made NO money. Sure, I had time to spend with my family, but the balance was off – there was no money to pay the bills and all that spare time was being spent twiddling our thumbs ‘cos there was no fun/entertainment money. Not to mention the fact that I spent a lot of time teaching my juniors, only for them to move on in a couple of months. It was tough. 

2. Say NO to new work (er, hell nope.)
Chances are if you are now enjoying the fruits of your labour, it is going to be paralysingly scary to say no to work. You will have all sort of fear-fuelled thoughts spinning around in your head like, “What if I say no and then all the work dries up?” And you know what this ISN’T helpful for? Your sanity. 

Which means, if we’re honest, neither of these are really options. 

So… what is? Are you doomed to a life of working yourself into the ground so you can make money and be successful?

I grew up in a family of hard workers. Like good old-fashioned seven-days -a-week shop owners. I watched them kill themselves day in and day out in order to make a living, so naturally when I started my own business, I thought that was the way to success. 

BUT after burning out and missing out on my family I had a realisation… 
It doesn’t have to be that way.

In fact, all you need to do in order to up level your business and work smarter and not harder is make these four simple changes to your business. 

Aren’t you glad you found me? 

Let’s dive in. 

HOW TO LEVEL UP WITHOUT STRESSING OUT 

1. CHARGE MORE
Yep it’s scary but it’s also totally necessary. The only way to work with less clients (but make more money) is to charge more. And if this feels uncomfortable, think about the true value you are offering your clients. Hint: It’s immense. Don’t believe me? 

You aren’t just a Mac monkey. You are a brand visionary, my friend. You are the key to their success, so start acting like it and charging for it. Also, bundle up your services into packages so that you work with the same clients for longer. If you are currently dealing with 12+ clients to make some dollars you are doing it the HARD WAY. 

3. GET SOME BOUNDARIES
If work = life, then something’s gotta give. And it isn’t going to be your life! Some simple boundaries you can put into place TODAY to hang on to your last thread of sanity:

• Add a rush fee to any urgent jobs (let’s find out how ‘urgent’ they actually are). 
  
• Let your clients know your working hours (and actually stick to them).
  
• Make your clients follow your brief/onboarding/deposit process. No exceptions. 
  

Phew, doesn’t that feel better already?

4. OUTSOURCE STUFF THAT ISN’T DESIGN RELATED 
So, as I confided earlier, hiring designers to work with your clients is hard. Like way hard. But why not outsource some of the other stuff that stresses you out? Like your book work, admin (like emails etc. which could be taken care of by a VA), blogs, copy, marketing and social media. Spend your money on people who are better at stuff than you – you are the design queen so focus on that.

5. AUTOMATE YOUR PROCESSES 
If your business isn’t at least a little automated, then you’re probably wasting time. You don’t have to do #allthethings #allbyyourself. Your homework? Two things you need to do asap: 

• Create a price list for people can download from your website so you never have to reply to a quote request again. Booyah! (get my price list template here) 
  
• Create a welcome kit that contains all of your on-boarding info for new clients ready as a template, so all you need to do is edit the clients’ name and amount each time. 
  

See! leveling-up doesn’t have to be big & scary.
Go forth & conquer my boss-lady. 

All the love,
Anna xo