Increase Income Without Sacrificing Time
If you asked most people, "How can I make more money?", the most likely answer would either be "work more" or "get a better job," but they obviously aren't working with a business coach. Whether you are a business owner or sales professional, you can use coaching to increase income without necessarily spending more time working. The idea is to know exactly what you want in your personal life and your work life, a question that surprisingly few people consider.
Terri will ask questions and assign exercises specifically designed to enable you to identify those things that will make your life richer. That way you'll be able to design a strategy which supports both areas of your life--work and personal. Terri applies her Create The Life You Desire© process to clients who want to increase income.
Here is the basic process Terri takes you through:
- Explore how you would like your personal life to be
- Explore what you want more of in your work life
- Set specific, measurable income goals
- Brainstorm strategies for achieving income goals which will also contribute toward a richer personal life
- Select and employ one or two strategies
- Measure their effectiveness along the way
- Make adjustments if necessary
- Enjoy your success!
An Actual Client's Story
"As a service provider, I thought I couldn't make more money without hiring employees. There just weren't enough hours in the day. In my first year with Terri, my self-worth increased and with it so did my bank account. My income increased 30%!"
- Gary D., Consultant
To give you an example of how this process works, the following is a story about how one client used Terri to increase his income. To maintain confidentiality, Terri has changed the client's name and other identifying characteristics.
David hired Terri to increase his five-figure income because after 5 years in business, it was not as high as he thought it should be. He also said that he was working all the time, and David was tired and pessimistic about the possibility of being able to change anything. Despite this, he thought he would give coaching a try.
After completing a coaching exercise, it became clear that family was very important to David. He wanted to be able to attend his kids' school or sporting events even in the middle of the work day. He wanted his wife to be able to stop working if she desired. Unfortunately, the way his business was operating, neither of these things were possible.
David's business required him to travel to his customers located across the entire metropolitan Chicago area. While there were a couple of pockets in which clients were located closely together, it was not uncommon for David to spend an hour in traffic to go see a client. Needless to say, David spent a good deal of time in the car.
David also wanted to provide value for his customers by pricing himself competitively and doing outstanding work. His hourly rate was about 25% lower than most of his competitors. His work was outstanding, he was very personable, and most importantly, David's customers liked him.
David's vision for his work life was that he would make six figures and manage a staff. While he liked doing work for his customers, David really wanted a business in which he was managing employees rather than doing all of the work himself.
David also set a goal for the next year: He wanted to increase his income by 20%.
Terri's objective was to help David reach his goal. In addition, she suggested that it was possible to reach his goal in such a way that it would also set the stage for spending more time with his family. David agreed to consider this.
Terri focused on David's strengths to help him develop strategies for increasing his income and spending more time with his family. Together, they developed a strategy which encompassed the following:
- Raised hourly rate 17%. David initially priced himself low to get business. He was afraid he might lose business if he increased his rates, but David was well-liked. Terri helped David “own” his own value to his customers. He raised rates 17% the first year and the full 25% in year two.
- Charged for travel time.
- Focused sales and referral efforts near his home.
- Hired independent contractors to service his clients outside of that area or when he was unavailable.
- Began doing more work for clients from his home office.
David exceeded his income goals. Instead of increasing his income by 20%, it rose 50% during the first year. He also set the stage for being able to attend his kids' school/sporting events during the work day by focusing his business growth closer to home and using others to service clients who were geographically undesirable. By using independent contractors, David also began to get experience managing people without the financial risk involved in hiring his own employees.
Needless to say, David's outlook improved. He was happier and more optimistic about his business. Through Terri's Create the Life You Desire© process, he saw how it was possible to have his work life contribute toward a richer personal life, too. While each individual's results and specific process may differ, following the strategies developed through this program will lead to a significant boost in the quality of all aspects of your life. It's never too early or too late to start living your best life possible, you just have to create it!
Previous page: Create the Life You Desire©
Next page: Work Life Balance