Donna Hann
Speeding up your journey to six figures. What a juicy topic when I sat down to write this podcast episode. It just flowed out of me. And it became this huge amount of information, all of which I think is really important to share. So, I'm going to split this into a two part series. Make sure you tune into next week, episode two so you can get the full picture on this really interesting topic.
Donna Hann
Hello, I'm Donna Hann, a business coach, and an online course creator. And this is the She's in Business podcast. You can think of me as your business bestie, who's a few steps ahead of where you are right now. As a monk fueled with ambition and determination, I've created and sold three businesses. I've learned the lessons made mistakes, and I understand the daily juggle in the hustle. I also know what it's like when relationships fray and burnout taps you on the shoulder. That was my world until I reshaped and transformed the way I ran my six figure business. Today I help women to transform their businesses and go from being the overwhelmed entrepreneur to becoming the thriving entrepreneur feeling energized, empowered and fulfilled within their business lifestyle. I want to inspire your business journey and help you to stop spinning your wheels, because I want you to burn bright instead of burning out. And I'll invite other entrepreneurs to share their real life stories too, because I want you to know that you're not alone. You can be the savvy entrepreneur that you are born to be, and enjoy the freedom to do the things and be present with the people that mean the most to you. So if you're ready to rise to the next level, and build a business by design, this is the shears in business podcast for mums who are made for more.
Donna Hann
So the six figure mark, it's a big goal for lots of people. It certainly was for me in my previous businesses, and it felt amazing. When I reached that goal. For me, making money is about showing my kids what's possible to create something from nothing. It's about financial independence, I never want to feel trapped in a situation because of lack of money. And as a strong woman, I want to contribute to my family and be paid my worth the highest rate of homelessness in Australia is women over the age of 50. Isn't that a scary thought? Often that happens through separation or the loss of their spouse and they become unable to financially support themselves. So I'm here to kind of talk about money. And I think more women should talk about money. I think we should understand our financial position and take action on building personal wealth for our future. Now let it be known. I am so guilty in the past of sticking my head in the sand and being the creative soul that I am just trusting that it was all going to work out. But I've realized that's not an option that I feel safe with anymore. It's actually for me the lazy option. So I've been working really hard over the last couple of years to change that. And this year, one of my goals is actually investing in shares, which feels very grown up. And I've got a lot of learning to do before I actually take the plunge and do it. But it is on my goal list for this year.
Donna Hann
Anyway, I want to talk to you about building a six figure business and speeding up your journey to achieve that in the shortest amount of time possible. Let's firstly define a six figure business. A six figure business is a business that earns at least $100,000 a year in revenue. The key to a successful six figure business is to develop a well defined strategy, determine the right target audience, create a unique product or service and then establish a strong market presence. A six figure business can be incredibly rewarding, and it can be a really liberating experience to reach that milestone. But I also want to be real with you. It takes a lot of fucking work. I'm not saying that you should be working like 16 hours a day, seven days a week or anything like that. But I am saying that you do need to roll up your sleeves and get to work. And it's important to work out for you and your season of life. What that actually means. The tricky part that I've experienced in growing six figure businesses is doing it in a way that doesn't leave you burnt out, or feeling resentful. There are different ways that I've discovered that have worked for me. And I share a lot of those in my programs and with my private clients. And it's great that it's also working for them too. I raised that here in the podcast, because my intention is to be honest and real with you. And I would be telling you an absolute lie, if making a six figure business a reality was easy. So I just want to put that out there to start with, you do need to be prepared to work for it to roll up your sleeves and really get messy with it.
Donna Hann
Now, I think that there are two paths to acknowledge here, you can either build your group your growth slowly, or go hard and sprint to that 100k. So that you can take advantage of all the benefits of building a six figure business. Now you've got to figure out which of those two parts is the right one for you. If you've got young kids at home, and you are, you know, really feeling they're really dependent upon you and you really need to sit with that, then maybe, you know, sprinting towards 100k is not going to be the right option for you. Maybe the slower path to growth is what you need. It's about figuring out what is right for you. But on the flip side, you might be so hungry for that 100k That you know, there are you are willing to put in the extra hours when the kids are in bed. It's really about figuring out what's ideal for you. And that's that's not for me to say that's for you to decide. So here are a few of the benefits that you can look forward to financial security is the first one having a six figure business that can provide you with financial security is an amazing feeling. You'll have a reliable source of income that you'll be able to save for your future goals. It also takes the pressure off and you can really come up for air. The five figure zone is like that hustle zone. It's exhausting, right. And it's just a feeling of I guess, almost relief when you reach that six figure milestone. And your mindset really does shift because you feel secure in that financial position. The second benefit is flexibility. So owning your own business means that you can set your own hours and work from wherever you want, you can create a lifestyle that works for you. And hitting that six figure milestone can mean that you can start to think about whether you want to reduce your working hours and get somebody else to step in and do some of the work for you.
Donna Hann
The third one is about being proud of yourself. You know, achieving a six figure business is an accomplishment that you should be absolutely proud of. It takes hard work and dedication. And it can give you a real sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, which is really nice. The fourth benefit that I want to share with you is expansion. So once you reach a six figure business, you can start exploring new opportunities that previously perhaps you couldn't have afforded. So things like hiring staff, maybe offering more services, expanding your reach, through paid marketing. You know, there's so many different things that you can do once you have that increased amount of revenue coming through. The fifth thing is networking. Running a six figure business can really open up many, many doors to networking opportunities. You'll be able to level up, meet and collaborate with like minded entrepreneurs at the same level as you and connect with higher level potential customers. So it can be a really exciting time. When I come back from the break, I am going to talk about ways that you can really speed up that journey. Stay tuned.
Donna Hann
If you are looking for an online course and a group coaching program designed for women just like you who have taken the leap into business, and now you're ready to step into your potential and really shift your business to the next level. You want to feel energized, confident and empowered with a plan to intentionally grow your ideal business. Well my signature hybrid program ready to rise may be exactly what you need. Over eight weeks will level up your business skills, get essential business systems and strategic guidance to success and you'll finally let go of the mom guilt for wanting to live out your other purpose. A business that lights you up and brings you added financial freedom for the life you want. Elite Plus, you'll embrace self care to avoid business burnout, now's the time to join the waitlist. And you can scoop up the extra bonus and early bird access when you do. So go to donnahann.com forward slash course to sign up for the waitlist and get all the details.
Donna Hann
Going from a startup business to a six figure business is exciting. And it's also really challenging. And it's important to make sure that your business excites you. And you understand that it is more than just a hobby that it is more than just making a bit of money on the side. The business women I work with as as clients are really hungry for those to reach that six figure mark, they're super passionate about it, which I believe is important because you're going to need to stick it out through the good and the bad times.
Donna Hann
You may have heard people say that reaching for your first 100k is the hardest milestone. And I tend to agree with that. When I think back my bricks and mortar business was a multi six figure business and reaching the first 100k was a huge effort. I also want to highlight here, that making 100k in sales and revenue is a great target to have. And you should absolutely have financial goals and targets. You also want to make sure that you're leaning in and you're tracking your expenses too. So every month, preferably every week, you should be reviewing your account and watching where your money goes. If it has been a while since you've looked through your expenses, I would suggest making that a priority because over time, it's easy to lose track of all those unnecessary expenses. And you know what often it's the small ones that add up and impact your bottom line, bank fees, subscriptions, that kind of stuff. So if you are preparing to step up into that six figure mark, the first thing that I want you to do is pay attention to your numbers. start tracking and cleaning up your expenses. You also want to review your profit percentage every month, which traditionally sits around 20%. So unless you are familiar with your industry benchmark, then start by aiming for 20% as your minimum. And to work out your profit percentage the calculation is your total expenses divided by your total revenue multiplied by 100. That will give you your profit percentage, revenue, expenses, profits, percentages, these are all often referred to as basic key metrics, the numbers you need to track so that you can grow and scale your profit and have cash in the bank.
Donna Hann
Now, obviously, I should point out that I am not a financial adviser, I am not an accountant, you need to go and speak to your accountant. If you've got specific questions around all of this, I'm just giving you a bit of an overview of the types of key metrics that you should really be familiar with within your business if you really want to hit that six figure goal, and speed up your journey to get there. In addition to tracking your revenue, expenses, profits and percentages, you also want to plan to stash some cash, as you build your six figure business, calculate your three to six months of expenses. That becomes your cash target. And you're going to put that in an emergency fund. Because whilst revenue is important, profit and cash are the lifeblood of your business. And in the wise words of my business coach Tina tower, revenue is vanity and profit is for sanity. So yes, go for making 100k in revenue, and track and review your expenses and set a profit percentage goal. This will help you to avoid ending up with a very low or maybe even non existent profit. And there's no other way to put it. My friend, it feels like shit. When you crunch the numbers and you're looking at a low or non existent profit. It's a really ship feeling. And you know, if you haven't been tracking your numbers, and you've decided to pull your head out of the sand like I did many years ago, and start discovering all of the things that you really need to be paying attention to in your business. Then now's the time. You know, if you've discovered that ship feeling that your business is making very little or less than nothing guess What, it's not all bad, because the only way is up from here on out. And knowledge is power.
Donna Hann
Now that you know, you can do something about it, right? So to grow your six figure business, it's vital that you keep your eye on the sales and expenses, that you understand your profit percentages, and that you build and protect your cash. Okay, well, that was been heavy, serious business. So I want to move along next to knowing your why this is kind of a bit lighter. So perhaps you're a risk taker, and you had an idea and you took a leap and you started your business. Or maybe you're more discerning, and you took your idea, you built a business plan, and then you took a calculated leap. Either way, it takes courage to start a business based on idea that formed inside of your head, there will be many moments along your business journey, where you'll feel uncomfortable, as you step beyond your limitations, you know, and you push through your fears, fear of failure, fear of what other people will think, you know, it's hard to let go of security and chase after your dream and really put yourself into an uncertain situation. So the driving force to keep you moving forward needs to be stronger than just a financial goal. It needs to be your why something that really matters to you something that lives in your soul, and drive your purpose for pursuing that six, six figure business. We dive into this, in module one of the ready to rise program, it's vital to understand that driving force that will inspire and guide you to push past the fear to get back up if you get knocked down, and to keep laser focused as you try and move the needle closer to your goals.
Donna Hann
So when I think back to my previous business, my dance studio, my why was about creating a space for dancers to feel safe, a place where they could lose themselves and find themselves on the studio floor all at once, to have a place to express how they were feeling without needing words to do so. And so that became my why. So I'm going to leave you with this part of the series with a question to ponder. What's your why? Why do you do what you do? I do what I do, because I want to help women go from feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, on the path to burnout to thriving as business owners. Because I feel like inside of us, we have so much potential. And whilst juggling a business and running a family is no mean feat. It is possible, you shouldn't have to put your aspirations and your career on hold to be a mum it is okay to be a mum that's made for more. And so my Y is to support you and create a space for you to learn and grow and feel supported. Because if more women could do that, imagine what the little girls coming up and growing right now will be able to achieve from role modeling us on us. And also for our little boys. It also shows them what's possible and to value strong women in their lives. So if growing your business is one of your goals, make sure you know your numbers. Make sure you know why you do what you do. And make sure to get in touch to explore ways to work with me. If you would like me to be part of your journey, I would love that. So for now. I'll leave it there. And I will see you next week for part two. Bye
Donna Hann
Thank you for listening to this episode of The She's in Business podcast. If you enjoyed it, please share it on Instagram and Facebook and I'd be so grateful if you could leave me a review on iTunes. Be sure to include your business name and Insta handle so I can give you a shout out to. If you want to know more about what I do the programs that I offer, then head over to www.donnahann.com and follow me on Instagram at Donna underscore Hann underscore SIB. I hope this podcast inspires you to be courageous and take action in carving out your very own business by design where you can avoid burnout and shine like the universe is yours.