2015 was a banner year for my small business. For the first time, I made the revenue target my husband and I had set for when he could leave his job. (of course now that that moment is here, we’re too scared to actually act on those plans!)  I am beyond thrilled at how it all came through and I want to share with you the secrets to how I finally did it this year.
Here’s how it all went down:

Hired the Right Mentors

Well, if you follow me, you know that I pay big bucks for big advice and 2015 was no different. In fact, January started with me paying 5-figures for 4 hours with my latest mentor. The year ended with me paying equally high numbers for my media coach. As we speak, I’m scouting for who will be my next guru to take me to the next level.

Got On TV

I never thought that starring in 3-minute TV segments in tiny towns during snow storms across the US would get me so much business in the last 3 months but alas, it has and it can only get better from here!

Spoke to Smaller Groups

This past year, I did something called Executive Roundtables, where 8-10 of my ideal target clients would gather in a room to discuss the topic of “When Visibility Doesn’t Convert To Clients”. I did this at 6 different cities this year instead of speaking at multiple networking events. Speaking to smaller groups of my ideal target grew my business by 45% over last year.

Moved My Business to the US

Moving south of the border was very scary. Remember the hilarious story of my first drive over the border? Well, I got over that fear quickly when my mentor told me I had to do it to grow my business to the levels I wanted to and I’m happy to say that the great majority of my clients are now American and I have been to more US cities this past year and waited in more airports than Donald Trump! How has it worked out for me? Less clients, more money, just by virtue of the exchange rate!

Overcame My Fears

I don’t know if there is a year that this hasn’t happened in my business yet but this year, I overcame the fear that my 6-year old would forget me or stop loving me if I travelled a week out of each month (Thank you David Neagle for that swift kick in the butt!). Predictably my little guy was fine. I was less fine (see the story of where I lost my voice after paying $8K for a Trade Show!) but gradually I began to enjoy a little me-time and coming back home to my loved ones. I even overcame my slight fear of dogs to do my TV segments, now that I think about it. 2015 was truly a great year!
As I think about growing my business even bigger, I am afraid but excited. I have to re-create every penny of this enormous revenue each year. What will I have to change? What will I have to overcome? What about you? Have you given it any thought?
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