I started writing this and it became a bit much…like too much 😳. So I decided to separate it into 3 smaller cups of tea ☕️ instead of the whole boiling pot! 🫖
☕️ The First Sip – Revenue
Running a profitable business requires R E V E N U E because let’s be honest, even if you had zero expenses without revenue, how could you profit?
You need to get those clients and do the work so you can bill those clients.
Go get those clients, umm ok but where/how?
There are many thoughts on how to do this. Social media, websites, SEO, google ads, buying leads, networking and the list goes on. What’s the best way? I can only speak to my experience.
It’s only been 20 months since I established Honeycomb Bookkeeping and I have a firm with 5 employees and 50+ clients. All but one of those clients was a referral. What have I learned from that? #1 it’s important to build good relationships, because those people will want to help you succeed. #2, in my industry businesses need to have trust in my company before they will hire me. This might be the same for you. When another business backs your brand trust is established. You more likely to win a client when someone they trust refers you.
How to Establish a Good Referral Network
Determine who your key referral partners will be. Who would naturally be in contact with the clients you are looking for? Then join networking groups where you can meet those people. Visit these groups before you ever pay to join. You want to make sure you are going to enjoy the time you spend building these relationships! Not every group is equal. Look for groups who track results. You want some ROI!
I meet on zoom with a group of 50+ professionals every week who focus on sharing referrals. More than that I’ve met some freakin awesome people in these groups. Their knowledge or friendship has been invaluable to me.🐺
If you are interested in joining me sometime reach out and we can chat more [email protected].
The other way I have built relationships is by working directly with my client’s CPA’s. Those CPA’s recognize the quality of work and are happy to refer us their clients looking for bookkeeping. Who can your clients connect you to? Possibly partner up and add value to your services? If you build websites compliment your client on their social media and ask who does it. Connect with that company for a 121 maybe you can collaborate with them on other work. You get the idea💡
Clients = Revenue, now what?
You have to bill those clients. How should you do that??? Hourly or set fees? The beginning of the month or end of the month after the work is done? Maybe it has to be based on milestones? Yikes!
Our next sip of ☕️ will focus on strategies for cash flow and invoicing.
